Yorkshire Girl's Midlife Diary

Well that’s it, another summer over!

It seems so long ago. I’m now well and truly back into the new year at work. But that hasn’t stopped me having a few running mishaps and getting into trouble!!🤭 It’s been a week of two halves on the running front really. First of all, a victory ………. the ‘Veteran 50 Lady’ bottle of wine in a local fell race! You see this was ok, because it was marshalled, and someone was stood in a fluorescent vest pointing the way. Then there was the call up to represent the Club in the British Fell running championships V40 ladies team (which involves a map), after saying “never again” following last year’s outing when I came an astounding second to last. So I have until 19th October to get my map reading and my act together and if there is no further post on here by Christmas you’ll know I got lost because I’m on a solo leg which is never a good thing. 😂This did however result in a lovely Yorkshire adventure on the hills all day yesterday with two friends and one dog from the team getting to know the area we are competing in. You can’t beat a glorious Yorkshire day on the hills with girlfiends! It was a fab day that involved a bit of mud, giggles, good times, getting lost, sausage rolls and sweets.😍

However, I proceeded my victory and team call up with a complete and utter orienteering fail a week earlier!!!! And one very annoyed husband! You see the thing is this involves me reading a map and finding checkpoints. No-one had time to come with me, so I thought, “not to worry I’ll go on my own”. But despite having attended a navigation course last year …………………. I was hopeless at reading a map before the course and unfortunately I am still pretty hopeless now!!!😂 Consequently, I have now been told I am not allowed out running on my own again when a map is involved, because it’s not safe apparently! I manged to get myself hopelessly lost in a wood, convinced myself I was on the correct path, and carried on despite cutting my legs pretty badly on brambles……………..because I don’t stop until I’ve found the checkpoint!😆 You have to give me 10 out of 10 for resilience if not for map reading!

I ended up miles away from the car, blood running down my legs, in the dark and had to call home for help and someone to come and find me and rescue me, which they did eventually, despite being a little annoyed. But I reminded them all at home how dull their lives would be without the continued adventures and mishaps of Dora the Explorer and her compass in it. They did not look convinced!😂

Anyway, I’m going to tell you about a little summer trip. I’ve been here, there and everywhere. I went to Spain walking and to visit the two Basque cities of San Sebastian and Bilbao. I went to do some running crewing over a long weekend that involved 48 hours without sleep and took in Mont Blanc and the countries of France, Italy and Switzerland. But the place I want to share with you is Crete, which I visited for a relaxing holiday at the end of July. I was so ready for this holiday! All I wanted to do was sleep, eat, read and do my puzzle book. Rather surprisingly I did achieve this for the first half of a week, but by Wednesday I had itchy feet and wanted to explore so I did alternate days. One day adventure followed by one day rest by the pool, until my two weeks were up.

The thing that I like about Greece and its islands is that you can completely wind down there. If you want to go out to eat in your shorts and T-shirt looking like you’ve just been dragged through a hedge backwards you can! It just seems light years away from the rest of Europe. People leave their cars and houses unlocked, in some places traffic is not permitted, you are still likely to see people using donkeys as their mode of transport. You can completely shut yourself off from the world and relax……………so I did. It was heaven.

I’m going to give you a whirlwind tour of the west of the island, I say the west of the island because Crete is huge. It has 3 airports. One which serves the east of the island, one the central area and Chania airport which serves the west. I flew to Chania as I wanted to explore the west of the island which is better known for its dramatic mountains, deep gorges and stunningly beautiful walking. It also has some pretty amazing beaches too.

If you want to explore this side of the island you need a car, so I picked mine up on arrival at the airport. Car hire is cheap, but don’t expect a Rolls Royce in Greece. The car will be road worthy (just), the driving is atrocious and not for the faint hearted, but just take your time and you’ll be fine! My car had four wheels, but that was about its only resemblance to a modern car. It was a Nissan Micra…………but not just any old Micra. It had 80k on the clock, more bumps and scratches than a toddler, a dodgy battery, questionable aircon……………….but it had four wheels and it worked!

The first task was to find the villa. I had chosen to stay in Stalos, but there was a compromise here. I don’t do holiday resorts for my relaxing holiday because I don’t want lots of people and noise………………I’m retreating. But we were travelling as a family with a 21 year old who does like holiday resorts and hates quiet! And the thing is it was up to me to entertain him as his Dad, being only 5 weeks away from the Ultra run of his life, had a full training schedule to follow. So it was two weeks of mainly myself and mini me. But I was not complaining as I just love his company and he makes me laugh so so much! 😂 And I think that works both ways………….although I’m sure he would decribe me as more ’embarassing’ than funny. 😆 I just love the fact that at 21 years old he still wants to spend 2 weeks on holiday with me as entertainment.

The nice thing about Stalos is that it is easily accessible and is a good base for exploring the whole of the west of Crete, but Stalos itself has two parts. There is Kato Stalos which is a beach resort full of bars, restaurants, discos, bikinis and speedos. Then there is Pano Stalos which is the old original village of Stalos around 1.5 miles inland in the green foothills of the mountains. The deal was (because I book the holidays) that the villa would be in Pano Stalos! But near enough for the youngest member of the party to get to the resort and beach easily.

Stalos has lots of ancient medieval history. Original records show its name as Talos and according to Minoan myth it was named after the legendary Talo, the giant king who protected the island of Crete by circling it three times a day. It then became know as Stalos from around 1629.

Pano Stalos (the old village) is so peaceful. There are amazing views of the sea, mountains and olive groves. There are no high rise buildings, just local houses, villas and a few apartments. There are a couple of tavernas aimed at locals rather than holiday makers but they are so eager to welcome you. Other than the tavernas and a church there is nothing ………………………. no supermarket or other amenities. It was bliss ………… just the sound of crickets, which in July in Crete is deafening. How can something so small make so much noise?!?!?

The villa was beautiful. It was owned by a lovely, welcoming, Cretan family who also owned the local taverna. It was in a really quiet area of the old village. It had two large bedrooms, both with a balcony overlooking a beautiful view, two bathrooms, a really well equipped kitchen, a swimming pool and then the most amazing shaded veranda. The veranda was probably my favourite place. It was situated underneath a large lime tree and was shady all day. There was a large table, comfy benches and cushions. I spent hours reading under the lime tree.

It was also the perfect place for breakfast, lunch and watching the sun set. So I spent an awful lot of time on the veranda. I did spend a lot of time in the pool too, but not too much time just laying by the pool as it was just too hot. It hovered between 38 and 42 degrees for the whole of the two weeks which is just too hot for me. If you don’t like it this hot, May or September time would be a much more comfortable time to visit the island.

What else do I think of when I think of Crete?…………………….Goats and cats! You have to like them both as they are everywhere. There can be goats roaming on the beach, like at Balos beach, where you turn your back and they’ve pinched your food. And every villa comes with resident cat! Ours was a lovely, cute, little female cat who took a bit of a shine to me, and waited by my sunbed every morning before moving onto the wall to sleep and laze in the sunshine.

There are so many places to visit in western Crete but here are the highlights of my stay which aren’t to be missed.

The main city in western Crete is Chania. It is a definite place to visit if you like a pretty port and some history. The harbour of the old town is Venetian in style and is so colourful and photogenic. Just behind the pretty harbour is the old town. This is filled with bougainvillea lined narrow streets, shops, and stalls selling local handicrafts. The side streets are filled with music and restaurants serving local specialities. I’ll tell you about food separately, because I love Greek food.

The harbour of Chania faces west, so it’s also the perfect spot to watch the sun set, with the fiery sky reflecting on the water and bobbing boats. It is a picture perfect setting.

Crete is also home to one of Europe’s longest and spectacular gorges, the Samaria Gorge. The people of Crete will tell you it’s the longest in Europe, but it’s not. At 16km end to end it is slightly shorter than the Verdon Gorge in France. However, its beauty has to be seen to be believed. No photographs could ever do it justice. It is truly stunning and the good thing is you can walk the full length of it in a day.

You can do this trip using your own transport but logistically it’s a bit difficult. I decided to book it as a self-guided trip from Chania, which was ideal. The tour company provided the transport to the top of the gorge, you walk down at your own pace and you meet again at the bottom of the gorge at 5pm, doing what you want in the interim period. From here the tour company transport you by ferry back to the waiting coach which drives you back to Chania. This worked really well. The hardest bit was trying to persuade a 21 year old whose primary focus is beer and babes that it’s a good idea to get out of bed at 5:15am and walk 16km in the heat on your holiday. 😂 Anyway, I managed to get him all the way from top to bottom of said gorge, with one small sulk, but not too much moaning, bribing him with sweets and the promise of a beer at the bottom. He even said he enjoyed it when it was over!

It is a really early set of from Chania at 5:45am. This is to get you to the top of the gorge for when it opens at 8am. The gorge is the most visited place in Crete and you really want to be one of the first people down to enjoy it at its best otherwise it just becomes too crowded. The gorge ends at the lovely small town of Agia Roumeli. There is no vehicle access to Agia Roumeli, the only way in and out is by ferry. It has a lovely beach and a few tavernas and apartments. I walk at an average pace and take lots of photographs and I exited the gorge at 3pm. This gave me a good 2 hours to have a long cooling swim in the sea and visit a taverna for some lunch and a beer before the meeting point and ferry back to the coach.

The walk is not easy. If you have bad knees you need to hire poles as the first section from the top, into the bottom of the gorge is very steep, uneven and long. Once you get into the bottom of the gorge it is a lot more walkable. There is lots of water in the bottom, unusual flowers and wildlife……………it is the most beautiful place. There is fresh spring water available at various points on the way down the gorge, so it’s not necessary to carry lots of water. Toilet facilities are limited but adequate and are just a hole in the floor. I would say the walk down the gorge is a must do on any itinerary to Crete.

Our next little adventure a few days later took us inland into the mountains, to look at some of Greece’s most famous agricultural exports and how they are produced…………….olives and honey.

Not to far away from Stalos, in the village of Ano Vouves, is the ‘Ancient Olive Tree of Vouves’. It is one of the oldest olive trees in the world and still produces olives today. It was declared a protected national monument in 1997 and although its exact age cannot be determined it is believed to be around 4,000 years old. Branches from the tree have been used to make winners wreaths in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Next to the tree is the Olive Museum, all about the cultivation of olives and olive oil, and a small café. I am glad I made a little detour to visit it, it was a lovely little place.

Not too far away from the ancient olive tree is one of many family honey farms. You will find honey absolutely everywhere in Greece and a lot of their recipes, and almost all their desserts incorporate it. A lot of the honey farms offer a tasting and tour so I followed my visit to the ancient olive tree with a visit to the Stathakis family honey farm. It was really interesting. There are so many different types of honey depending on what flora and fauna the hives are situated next to. I think my favourite was the wild thyme honey and a couple of jars were duly purchased for my Dad who adores honey!

The following day was a relax day so we decided to visit a beach. Crete has some absolutely amazing beaches and it has a beach for every taste. There are large beaches with amenities and sand, pebble beaches, little quiet coves………you cannot fail to find a beach that you like in Crete. We decided to visit Preveli beach on the south of the island. It is a beautiful sheltered beach surrounded by high cliffs. It’s part sand and part pebble. But what makes it beautiful is that it is backed by a really unusual palm forest and the Megalos Potamos river which flows down into the sea here after gushing down from the top of the Kotaliotikos Gorge.

The only easy way to the beach is by boat from elswhere. Otherwise it’s a long hike down the gorge or almost 500 steps down from the parking lot. I decided to go for the steps option from the parking lot and it was worth it as the view of the beach from half way down the steps is beautiful. Once you get to the beach there is a beach bar and some toilets but there aren’t really any other amenities as it is a protected area. It’s good to wade up the river for half an hour though, climbing and scrambling over the rocks at the bottom of the gorge and sitting in the whirlpools made by the swirling water………………….so refreshing on a hot day, like a cold jacuzzi!

If you have driven all that way to Preveli breach it would be a shame not to visit Kotaliotikos Gorge. It has the most amazing waterfalls and wild swimming spots. If you are feeling really energetic you could walk to it from Preveli beach. However, bearing in mind this was my rest day, I parked at the top of the gorge by the small chapel and walked down to the waterfalls and swimming areas. It was so pretty but the water was oh so cold. Both the gorge and the beach are definitely worth a beach day trip.

On the way back from Preveli, if you are staying on the north coast you will go past the city of Rethymnon and this you definitely must see. Just like Chania, Rethymnon has a beautiful harbour. It also boasts one of the best preserved Venetian old towns on the island. It is gorgeous, with it’s maze of little tiny streets weaving one way and then another. It’s impossible not to get lost in there but being on holiday and not having any time constraints it was rather nice to just wander. There are so many tavernas serving wonderful food that I decided not to rush back to Stalos but to stay for dinner. It felt bigger and busier than Chania, and I still think that of the two I preferred Chania, but it’s still one of my holiday highlights.

After a couple of days relaxing by the pool I was ready for another little adventure……………….and this was a lovely day. But it did not go to plan and that was part of the beauty of it. It was one of those days when you end up doing something other than what you planned and it ends up being a fabulous day anyway. I wanted to visit the small fishing port of Loutro and then do a circular gorge walk taking around 5 hours. Loutro is so very pretty. It is only accessible by boat. We drove to Chora Sfakia, from where there is a regular ferry to Loutro which takes around 20 minutes.

Loutro is the most beautiful little place. Boats bobbing in the harbour, the sea so unbelievably blue, rows of tavernas with brightly coloured deckchairs and Coco the parrot to welcome you. I’m never quite sure about African Grey parrots…………there’s one in the garden centre near home and whenever I say hello to it it tells me to ‘F*** Off!’ 😆 However, Coco was far more pleasant. Apparently he bites, but his vocabulary is very good. He says “Hello”, tells you his name and can tell you he’s a pretty boy, all without uttering a single swear word!

I managed to persuade the youngest party member to come with his swimming trunks but he kept reminding me that under no circumstances was he doing any more walking this holiday, he was staying in Loutro on the beach for the day. He’d done one gorge walk and that was his exercise for the month. 😂 Now this is where I made a slight mistake……………..I left him in Loutro with my credit card and told him I’d be back in a few hours and to get himself a drink and some lunch. I now know I need to be more specific about how many and what drinks and food are allowable on my card.

I set off on the most beautiful walk, however the track up to the top of the gorge was so steep and it was now over 40 degrees. As I started to descend into the gorge my feet were slipping on the loose rock, so sensibly, I decided to abandon my walk and turn back. This led me into the little village of Livaniana, which I would otherwise not have come to. I had plenty of water but I saw a taverna on my map. I was so disappointed when I got there as it appeared to be closed. However, on closer inspection I saw it never closes…………………you let yourself in and serve yourself! How good is that!!! I took the latch off the wire door and let myself in, onto the most beautiful vine covered veranda overlooking the blue sea down below. In one corner of the veranda was a plugged in fridge and inside the fridge were soft drinks, water and a selection of beers. At the side was a price list, bottle opener and a tub in which to put your money. This tub must only be emptied periodically as it was early morning and there was at least 50 Euros in there and not a person in sight. I helped myself to a lemon Fanta and put my money in the box.

It’s little things like that this restore my faith in this world. If that taverna had been situated at home in the UK the box would have had to be bolted down and emptied hourly to deter theft. I would doubt the drinks would have been there long either, and if someone had a car boot big enough they’d take the fridge too!!😂

After my little pit stop I them stumbled across Finika beach just around the headland from Loutro. It was just beautiful, my type of beach. A lovely, quiet, secluded little bay . The water was still, like a millpond, and bright turquoise blue. I could not resist getting in for a long swim, drying off on the beach for an hour afterwards reading my book. I thought Loutro was amazing but this was even better because it was quieter.

I walked back into Loutro 3 hours after I had left. In those 3 hours my credit card had purchased one pizza, an ice cream, some snacks, two mojitos and a beer. 😂 Lesson learned………….I will just leave him with a bottle of water and a 10 euro note next time to ward off starvation and dehydration! I never authorised cocktails!! I had very little sympathy when he went a shade of green on the boat on the way back.😂

After another villa pool day we decided to venture to Elafonisi beach on the south west of the island. I had heard this was one of Crete’s best beaches and was famous for its pink sand. It’s a journey of around one and a half hours from Stalos but we broke the journey up at the pretty little Taverna Spiliaraki in the village of Topolia at the top of the Topolia gorge in the mountains. This wins the prize for being my favourite café in Crete. It is basically the veranda of the owners house. Traditional Greek food, cakes and drinks are all it serves, all home made by the lady who lives there. The veranda has the most amazing, colourful, vine covered seating area. It has an outstanding view over the village and the gorge and there are hammocks all around for you to laze in. The traditional Greek iced coffee was delicious.

We eventually made it to Elafonisi beach. There was a bit of moaning from the youngest as the walk from the car to the beach was more than 10 metres but eventually we made it after bribing him with the promise of beer again. This was was definitely my favourite beach on the whole of Crete. It is AMAZING!!!! The water is turquoise blue, the fine sand is pink, there is so much space it never feels overcrowded, you can swim so far out and still touch the bottom. It is truly spectacular. I’m led to believe the sun sets from here are fantastic as it faces directly west, although I left late afternoon. It’s quite remote so if you are looking for a beach with water sports equipment and entertainment you’ll not like it. There are two very small beach bars and a very basic toilet……………that’s it! And that’s what’s nice about it.

The next day was the day that I’d rather forget…………………..because family holidays are all about compromise aren’t they!?! When you are 21 you just want an endless supply of Mythos beer, banging tunes, a beach sun lounger and bikini clad babes!!😂So that’s what I got in the very hip and trendy beach club after losing the coin toss as to who was going to be the unlucky person to accompany him and take up the extortionately priced second sunbed! All joking aside I did have a good day. I spent the day reading my book, the cocktails were good, I did lots of people watching, avoided the topless pool games and if anything good came out of it……………………….it was the fact that I came out of there feeling extremely glad to be 53 and not having to look for a suitable suitor from those available to choose from in there!

The next day was the final adventure of the holiday……………….a trip to Balos Beach on the very north west tip of the island. It’s gorgeous! It is a huge lagoon of crystal clear water. You can get a drink and a snack there but that’s all, so it’s one where you need to take supplies if you are going for the day. My advice however if I ever went again would be to arrive by boat from Kissamos town just around the headland. We drove and the road to the beach is horrendous. It’s a good 5 miles on a dirt track which is only really suitable for 4 x 4’s. How on earth we made it there and back in the Nissan Micra I really have no idea. It rattled and bounced all the way there and back. Then once you get to the parking lot it’s a good one mile walk down an extremely steep and uneven track. If you are not up for a bit of an hair raising adventure then take the boat!

The final thing to share with you about Crete is the food. It will come as no surprise to you that I love Greek food……………because I love all food! The only thing I will say is that I travelled with a vegetarian and the choice for vegetarians is quite limited unless you are in a resort and don’t mind fast food. If you are anywhere more remote or in a traditional taverna you will be limited to the salads and cheese based dishes of which there is not a lot of variety. Vegetarianism has not really found its way to the more remote areas of Greece yet.

So what are my favourite Greek dishes. Number one has to be Souvlaki. This is basically a grilled meat skewer or kebab cooked over a special outdoor grill, a bit like a BBQ but the meat has usually been marinated beforehand and the flavour of oregano is really noticeable. It normally comes as chicken or pork and my favourite is the chicken Souvlaki.

Next up has to be Stifado. This is a tomato based beef and red wine stew with onions. Local herbs and spices and often all-spice or cinnamon are added to give it that extra flavour and warmth. I love Kleftiko too. This is an entire meal baked in a parcel. Its is a leg of lamb baked slowly in parchment paper with potatoes, onions, lemon, herbs and garlic. The potatoes cook in the juices of the lamb, lemon and herbs. This is delicious. You can probably see now why it’s not ideal for vegetarians. A lot of the key Greek dishes are meat based and there is a heavy bias towards red meat.

That being said there are a couple of vegetarian dishes I love. The first is a greek salad……………..simply cucumber, tomato, pepper, red onion olives, feta, oregano and olive oil. Easy to make yourself and simply delicious. Another favourite is Saganaki which is fried cheese, usually graviera, halloumi or some other sheep milk type cheese.

They also eat a lot of snails in Crete which I wasn’t expecting. I’ve always associated snails with French cuisine. I have to admit that I had got to 53 years of age without trying a snail. But they sounded intriguing cooked in wine, garlic, olive oil and rosemary. My little sidekick is very adventurous with his food so we decided we’d try a portion of snails. They were really nice. Although I don’t think they’d be my first choice on a menu, once I’d got my head around it being a snail and worked out how to eat it, I thought it was really quite tasty. It was not the really slimey texture I was expecting, it was more meaty and had the feel of a mushroom in your mouth.

Last but not least ……………… desserts!!! And I love a dessert! But they don’t really have dessert menus in Greece. What they normally do however, is bring a complementary large dessert out to the table to share and a bottle of home made raki. Raki is the national drink of Crete. It is made from twice distilled grape pomace and is flavoured with aniseed or another spice like cinnamon. It is generally around 40% ABV but can be higher if home distilled. It puts hairs on your chest it’s that strong!

Now the other half of the parent duo is very good and well behaved. His body is a temple, and training for an impending major ultra marathon meant that alcohol was completely out of the question. However, my body is not a temple, and I have very little willpower when it comes to dessert and the odd tipple when on holiday, so it just descended into a little nightly raki shot drinking finale between the remaining two of us. However, I have 53 years of shot drinking experience so it normally ended with my little buddy swaying and staggering to his bed, only to resurface very late the following morning to discover I had bounced out of bed gone for a little early run before the sun got two hot. 😂😂 The youth of today just have no staying power.

In terms of dessert you sort of get what you are given but quite often it will be Loukoumades………………..and these are just to die for. Imagine a little deep fried doughnut ball, all crispy on the outside and soft and squidgy in the middle. When they come out of the fryer they are smothered in honey and they soak it all up. When they get to you they are still warm. When you pop one in your mouth you get that crispy crunch of the outside of the doughnut, the softness of the interior and all the honey it has soaked up just oozes out in your mouth. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream there is no better Greek dessert!

So that’s it……………..your very brief guide to the west of Crete and its food. I’m sure it has a lot more to offer too, but I did spend a lot of much needed time relaxing and getting away from it all. I’d definitely return here to explore more. I loved the island, the culture the people and the food.

No big ‘out of the country’ adventures planned now until the beginning of November, just little mini Yorkshire adventures at the weekend, some creative projects at home, a big pile of books to read, a national fell running competition I’m trying to forget about, and a few weeks of pressing my escape key like Steve 😂😂………………………………………

But before I tell you about those, I have one other piece of exciting news in my life which I just have to share. It’s a proud Mum moment! We have a Master of Physics with Astrophysics in the house!!! Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Bath Abbey to attend the Masters graduation of my eldest.

It was a marvellous day for him, a fantastic day for science and an even better day for my bank account!😂😂 Yes, almost 24 years after that very special day of his birth in October 2000, I have a fully fledged adult who in theory should now be financially self supporting. I’m not sure how that will work in practice but lets see how long it takes him to come to me for a loan.

I was so glad that Grandma and Grandad got to see him too. They were so proud. So after 24 years of tantrums (including some of my own😂), back chat, dressing up outfits, table top scientific experiments involving baking soda and vinegar, one almost broken window from a self made and launched rocket, lots of adventures, time out on the ‘thinking step’……….and a whole load more ups, downs, twists and turns……………………….he made it! I am so very proud of him. And I have to say I’m a little bit proud of me. Yes, my eyes may glaze over when he starts lecturing me on particles, matter and the interactions between them but I can’t help thinking………..wow, I part made an astrophysicist! Surely some of those brain particle genes must be mine!😂

In running news this was also the week of the Charlesworth and Chisworth Festival Fell Race. Now I made the age old mistake of not checking the route stats before I entered………………I just saw ‘free flapjack for every runner at the end’, and that was me sold. 😂 It was a lovely festival……small countryside village, scarecrow competition, dog show, poultry show, brass band, crowning of the festival King and Queen (you had to be under 12 to enter otherwise I might have done…………..I’d have had more success than in the run!). Then it was time for the fell run. I did wonder why only 8 of my team mates had turned up but all was revealed on starting when I discovered the run was 1.5 miles up the steepest hill you have ever seen and 1.5 miles down again. 🥵 My goodness, the only thing that saved me was the presence of a Mr Whippy ice cream van in the festival field at the end. It took a large Ferrero Rocher ice cream sundae complete with nuts, chocolate sauce and two chocolates on top, in addition to my flapjack, to revive me! I might give that one a miss next year…………….or just come for the Mr Whippy van.

Anyway, I digress, onto the Picos de Europa. I thought the coast of Asturias was pretty……………………..but then I got to the Picos ………….and they are just WOW!! Gorgeous in a different way, but just as jaw dropping.

I can’t tell you how many times I was just speechless it was so spectacular. I had four days here, three walking and one just dotting around in the car. I didn’t stay here, I remained on the coast in Llanes because it was convenient to get to all three areas of the Picos de Europa that I wanted to get to in less than an hour.

I almost don’t want to tell you about it, as other than on a weekend when it’s crowded with locals, there is hardly anyone there and I’d like to keep it that way. It does not have that ‘fame factor’, of the Alps and Pyrenees, but believe me, having been to the Alps, I can confirm it is just as beautiful. It’s quite a small mountain range, with its highest peak being Torre de Cerredo at 1931m. The mountain range straddles the three Spanish regions of Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and Leon. It is split into five sub areas for walking and I walked in three of them Cabrales, Valdeon and Cangas de Onis. You can stay in the Picos de Europa if you want, and the main bases are Potes, Cangas de Onis and Arenas de Cabrales depending on where you want to walk.

If you want a good English language walking guide this one is really good by my favourite hiking guide publishers Cicerone. All the areas are covered and there are walks of varying levels of difficulty and distance.

My first walk in the Picos saw me in the Cabrales area to hike Monte Camba. This was a circular hike of 13.5km with 750m of ascent, so quite challenging in terms of elevation. There were some exposed sections but nothing too onerous. I chose this one because it took in views of, and passed through, two of the prettiest villages in the area Tielve and Sotres, which are the centres of local Cabrales cheese manufacture.

I was also interested in this route as it took you past a number of mountain majadas which still serve the two villages today. A majada is a stone building in the mountains from where the sheep are farmed and from where they make the cheese at source.

The route also promised little-seen views of the summits of the North East sector of the Central Massif, which included a good view of El Naranjo de Bulnes, probably the most well known peak of the Picos de Europa mountain range.

The walk starts at the mountain village of Tielve where I parked the car at the side of the animal drinking trough in the main square. It was a strange little village, almost like the village that time forgot. There were a few cars, a few animals wandering around, an old beat up tractor, but absolutely no sign of life. It looked like there was a bar, but it did not look like it had been open for a while. Perhaps it just opens in the summer when there is an influx of hiking visitors.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty little place and the steep climb out of the village soon began. I did see one farmer who gave me a wave and a shout, and one group of five Spanish gentlemen a bit older than me who looked liked they were on a lads walking day out in the mountains. They peered at me like I was a bit of a novelty (they must not see many mature English women wandering around here 😂) and were happy to be entertained for a few minutes with my Spanish before they peeled off to scale higher peaks.

Tielve was soon a speck in the distance and the views were spectacular. It was not long until I came across the first of the majadas, although there wasn’t much activity today, which was a shame as I wanted to see if I could sneak my way in for a look at it in action.

There were some of my favourite cute cows, more gorgeous views, and I kept winding up and up, through pastures and small copses of hazel bushes. Hazel makes an important contribution to the economy here. The nuts have obvious benefits but no part of the bush goes to waste. The dried leaves are used as animal bedding, the older branches as firewood, the new flexible thin branches for basket weaving and the thick branches for walking sticks. The roots of the bushes also hold the soil together and help to prevent erosion. Eventually, I came out at a road, a communications antennae and lots of lovely shepherds huts at the Collau de la Caballar at 1233m high.

At this point on the road is a statue to the cyclists of the Vuelta de Espana, as the Collau de la Caballar was chosen as the gruelling climb at the end of Stage 15 of the race in 2015. It’s hard enough walking up, never mind on a bike!

Not long after the peak, the path starts winding back down again, and I could see the pretty village of Sotres in the bottom of the valley. I had emergency food in my rucksack but was hoping for there to be more life here and the possibility of some lunch.

Sotres turned out to be a lovely place. It got prettier and prettier as I approached it.

I entered the village into the main street and all my wishes were granted. There was a lovely looking restaurant ‘Meson Restaurante Pena Castil’ and it was open!

I must have looked like I was on my last legs as I plonked myself down at a table and peeled of my rucksack, as I was met by the round smiley face of the proprietor who in Spanish told me I looked like I needed a beer. I’m not sure that’s a good thing as I think it was his polite way of telling me I looked a bit worse for wear!😂 But I did need a beer………a big one…….and a bottle of water as I was gasping!

I saw a typical Asturian dish on the menu and thought I’d give it a try. They call it Fabada and I would very much recommend it. It is so very very tasty and just what you need to revive you after a long walk. It’s like a bean stew made with fabes de la Granja, which are large white beans from Spain. Within the stew are pieces of morcilla (a blood sausage), chorizo and pork belly. With some fresh crusty bread and a beer it’s the hikers dream lunch, even though it was now approaching 28 degrees!

I left the lovely village of Sotres, climbing uphill again, to be rewarded with some lovely views back across the valley and the village.

It wasn’t too long before the path started winding back downhill, and this is where it became quite exposed as you are skirting and zigzagging down a cliffside which hovers over the new road. It’s not too steep a drop off though and the path is quite wide. If you have a really bad fear of heights you might not like it but it did not bother me so it can’t be as bad as some of the guide books make out.

I was soon back in the village of Tielve after a beautiful day and a hike that I would recommend to anyone who likes a steeply inclined walk, beautiful views, no crowds, two pretty villages and some good food. It was a ten out of ten day.

Day 2 in the Picos was just as spectacular. This was the day I decided to walk the Cares Gorge. The Cares Gorge is a huge chasm of a gorge, a split in the limestone which divides the mountain range.

If you want to walk it in its entirety from Posada de Valdeon to Poncebos it’s 20km long and will take you between 5 -7 hours. The only trouble with that option is that it makes it a point to point walk, not circular, and unless you have someone picking you up at the other end there is no easy way back, unless you want to walk 40km and walk all the way back, which I didn’t.

An equally beautiful and viable option if you have a car is to just walk out and back from Poncebos to Cain or vice versa. This way you walk 24km, taking around 6 hours, see the prettiest parts of the gorge and finish back at your car, having walked 12km each way. This was the option I chose.

If you are going to do this walk you need to do it midweek, out of any Spanish holiday period. I’m led to believe it’s a completely different walk and different atmosphere then, as it is one of the best known walks in Spain and gets very overcrowded. This was a Tuesday in May and it was lovely and quiet.

I’ll be entirely honest as well and say this is not a walk for the faint hearted or those with an extreme fear of heights or vertigo. I have a fear of heights and I struggled with it to begin with. I thought I’d be walking in the bottom of the gorge but you aren’t. The path is cut into the wall of one side of the gorge. It’s extremely high, over 100m from the path to the bottom of the gorge in places. Although the path is wide enough, it is a sheer drop off, and there are no barriers along the length of it, it’s up to you to manage yourself. Neither are there any other exit routes, apart from one around two thirds of the way into the walk. So once you’ve set off, if you decide you want to get off, you can’t, without walking to either end of the section, which at the midpoint is 6km either way.

It’s not flat either, there are some really steep uphills and downhills on the path. That aside, if you think you can handle the height, you must do this walk, it is one of the most beautiful walks I have ever done.

I was ready for turning around 10 minutes into the walk. I’d realised the path was going to be elevated for 12km with no option to get off. I was teetering on a little path 100m from the gorge bottom, was a little bit terrified and about to have a little panic. For anyone that has a fear of heights you’ll know what I mean. I’m not scared of heights, I’m scared of falling. You can stand me on top of a mountain thousands of metres high and I have no problem provided there’s no drop off and I can’t fall off. But put me on anything high that I can fall off, like the ledge I was on, and I have an irrational fear. But I know me, and I know that if I just plonk myself down on my bottom, let that initial fear pass, and have a rational word with myself I can normally get over myself. So that’s what I did and after around 10 minutes I’d had a drink of water, nothing terrible had happened and I’d got used to being on my little elevated perch. It would have been such a shame not to press on so I convinced myself that that was the best option.

I had the most amazing walk. I saw eagles, vultures, lots of mountain goats, the most spectacular views and lots and lots of water as there is an hydro-electric dam at one end of the gorge and a channel is cut along the gorge which transports the water all along the gorge, half way up the gorge wall. It really is one of those places that has to be seen.

Once you get to the small hamlet of Cain there are a number of bars and restaurants where you can refuel before you start the journey back. I’d taken my picnic which I ate after finding a quiet spot on a rock down by the side of the river. My picnic was lacking something though………and I realised it was an ice cream! I decided I definitely deserved one so had my picnic and a chocolate almond ice cream before setting off on my merry little way back to the car.

The walk back was equally as lovely as you get a completely different view to that which you get on the way out. The climb is less too, apart from one steep section, so I seemed to make the return journey much quicker than the outward journey.

On the way back to Llanes in the car I stopped at the lovely town of Potes in the middle of the Picos de Europa. It was dropping a little cold and the cloud had come down but it was a really nice, busy little town. There is a lovely riverside walk which I had a wander down.

Pretty alleyways, houses and flower filled balconies abound. It really is a pleasant little place.

Then I made two discoveries that made me giggle. The first was a rabbit skin foot warmer! Just look at this. If I could have fitted this in my luggage I would have had this. My feet are always freezing cold. I have a bit of a love affair with my fluffy sheepskin slippers at home but this would just be the Rolls Royce of foot warming equipment. I need one in my life

Then I spotted a monument in the middle of a small square. Now it might just be me, no-one else might see what I am seeing and it was probably not appropriate for me have a giggle at it, as given the dates on it it’s probably a monument to something really sombre and sad. I have absolutely no idea but I think it is something to do with the rebuilding of Potes after it was the final town in the Santander area to be absolutely decimated and captured by Franco and the Republicans in the Spanish Civil war……………………………….so it’s no laughing matter. But seriously who designed this?!?!? Did they really think the finial type thing on the top was a good design or were they too, having a laugh? I have absolutely no idea but I have fondly named it the ‘Penis of Potes’. 😂😂 I am sure that’s not its real name but if the aim was to leave a lasting impression then it worked.

That was the end to another lovely day with just enough time for a beer before bed time. I was ready for it……….both the beer and my bed! I was so tired.

My last day of walking in the Picos took me to probably the most well known place in the area, the Covadonga Lakes. However, I did not see them at their best as it was not the greatest day weatherwise, with low lying cloud hugging the tops of the mountains. The advantage of that of course was that there weren’t too many other people there.

The road up to the lakes is open to traffic during the week so I parked in the visitor car park. On a weekend in the summer you now have to leave your car in Cangas de Onis, the nearest large town and get the shuttle bus up as it gets so overcrowded.

It’s really high up here and when I got out of the car at the top it was absolutely freezing and blowing a gale. I’d got appropriate clothing so got all wrapped up in my down jacket and off I went for a look around. There are two lakes, Lake Enol and Lake Ercina and they are both glacial lakes. In the summer they will be gorgeous but even on a day like this one, there was something special about them. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop and the mist and low lying cloud on the top of the water made it really ethereal.

I had planned a short 4 mile route around the lakes but first of all I wanted a little walk in the other direction to look at the Majada de Belbin. This one is a working majada, where in the summer the shepherds tend their livestock and make cheese. There was a beautiful view down to the majada, nestling in a sea of rolling green hills. I could see a couple of gentlemen but unfortunately my attempts to get close to the majada were thwarted by a Spanish mastiff dog who seemed to view me as a threat to his sheep he was guarding.😦 Now I love dogs, but this one did not look like it was going to roll over for a tummy rub. It was barking and growling at me and its fangs were huge, so rather than chancing my luck I decided to retrace my steps, sit on a rock and view it from a distance.

By now the cloud was really coming in low but I had my compass and still wanted to do my little walk. I set off round the edge of Lake Ercina first and climbed up and over the small peak at the far end. Here I discovered another small majada and a lovely view back to the lake.

The walk than skirted through a number of areas of woodland and rock strewn plateaus. The route was quite easy to follow and it was waymarked with the usual yellow and white footpath signs in the rocky areas where the path was a little more ambiguous. There were pretty alpine flowers even at this high level in the cold and wind.

I kept climbing upwards until I reached the Vega de Enol which is a flat grazing area, at the top of which stands the Ermita de El Buen Pastor (the Chapel of the Good Shepherd). It’s here, where at the beginning of July, a traditional festival takes place with music, dancing, food and a race to the top of the nearby mountain. The purpose of the festival is to elect the new Head Shepherd for the year ahead. A bit like Charlesworth and Chisworth festival but without the Mr Whippy van. 😁

It was quite eerie up here by now as the mist had really rolled in so I stared to make my way back to the car via Lake Enol.

By now I was really cold and the weather up here was worsening so thought it time to drive back down the winding mountain road and dip back below the clouds.

I just had time on the way back to stop in Cangas de Onis for coffee and a quick wander as I was eager to find the roman bridge there and the starting point of the Sella river canoe descent. It was a busy town and seemed to be the adventure sports centre of the Picos de Europa. Lots of hotels, bars, restaurants and adventure equipment stores. I found the pretty bridge, with the lovely clear water beneath. It would be a lovely place for a dip when it’s hot.

That was the end to three fantastic days walking in the area and your little guide to three fantastic walks too. This is a definitely a place for a longer revisit for me. Plenty more walks to do in my book, which all look equally as good.

That’s definitely all I’ve got time for now though until September. Because I am so excited, and not many grown ups do excited like I do! 😂 ……………………………. Today SCHOOL IS OFFICIALLY ‘OUT FOR SUMMER’! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY. I’m like a child that’s eaten too many blue sweets! Passport packed, first stop Crete! Bring on the holidays…………..I am so ready for them this year! Never before have I been so excited about a puzzle compendium! I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to tell you about Crete on my return because I am so tired. I have no plans other than books, puzzles, ice cream, kleftiko, and white wine soda……….all at the same time!! 🤭

I like days like this……………..I’ve had a lovely day…………pottering.

The body is a marvellous thing and over the last few weeks I’ve probably put mine through a bit more than the average 53 year old. So I decided last night not to set my alarm because today was going to be a relaxing day. I decided to wake up when my body decided it was time to wake up………………and that was 9:30am 🤭 I did feel a little lazy, but my body must have needed it as that was literally the first eye open time. And sometimes I think it’s good to just let things take their natural course. To have a day when you just let it evolve and do all the nice things that you like to do in your own time. First stop after breakfast was the allotment…………and look what I got…………..yes, it’s red fruit time…….. I love this small variety of strawberry, they are so sweet!

So then I had the dilemma of what to do with it all. I’ve given lots of it away (neighbours love me at this time of year), some has been kept back for jam making tomorrow evening, and today I’ve been doing one of my other favourite things …….. baking, as I have both boys back now and they eat a lot! Today’s bakes were a coffee walnut loaf cake and then to use the fruit up, a summer fruit pavlova with vanilla Chantilly cream. And just to prove that sometimes even I have a kitchen fail I’ve included a picture of the pavlova which collapsed somewhat! 😂

Then I’ve been for a little 10k trot around the block as I wanted to eat my baked goods so thought I’d better earn it! Then I’ve read for a while. This evening I’ve sat and typed my blog in peace and quiet while eating Pavlova as the boys have gone to the pub to watch the England match. But by all accounts, from what keeps popping up on my phone, in my opinion their time would have been much better spent staying in eating Pavlova! 😂😂 I can confirm it tasted better better than it looked in its collapsed state…….perfectly crunchy on the outside which soft, spongy marshmallow like meringue on the inside, the sweetness of the cream contrasting just perfectly with the sharpness of the fruit. 😍

So I’m going to tell you all about my trip to Asturias northern Spain. It was outstandingly beautiful………I loved it and can’t wait to go back.

I’ll tell you all about what I got up to and what I think are the things you should not miss whilst you are there.

I’ll tell you about it in two parts, because it was a bit of a two part holiday and there is so much to tell you. Asturias is home to the Picos de Europa mountain range and I spent four days adventuring there. I appreciate that adventuring in the mountains is not everyone’s idea of a holiday but it really does deserve a post all of its own so I’ll tell you about that separately.

In this first post I’ll share with you the northern coast of Asturias and what the must sees are if you want a more leisurely visit and some gentle walks, relaxation time, food and beach visits. I’ll apologise now for the length of the post but it’s just beautiful, the perfect place for me and I really did not want to come home, I could have stayed there for ever!

The closest airport to Asturias is Oviedo, but it’s quite a small airport and if you are flying from the UK, London Gatwick is the only place where you can get a direct flight from at the moment. That’s not convenient for me as it’s a 5 hour drive away so I flew to Bilbao from Manchester. You can get a flight to Bilbao from a number of UK airports and the drive time to Asturias is only two hours on some really good, quiet motorways.

I hired a car at the airport, a little Renault Clio, and it was perfect. I would not recommend anything bigger if you are wanting to visit the mountains, but yet you probably don’t want anything smaller in engine size as that might struggle with some of the gradients in the Picos.

It was a lovely drive from the airport, with the sea in sight for a lot of the way. I find driving in Spain quite a pleasure. It’s not like Portugal, Italy or Greece where the standard of driving can leave a lot to be desired and it can be quite a nerve wrecking experience. It was a really early morning flight and I would have arrived at my destination well before the check in time so I broke the two hour drive up by calling for some brunch and a little look around the pretty little coastal town of San Vincente de la Barquera.

San Vincente de la Barquera is actually in Cantabria and not Asturias. It is a lovely town to stop in en-route. It has a pretty old town, a charming harbour full of brightly coloured bobbing boats, a panoramic setting on the river and some fantastic restaurants specialising mainly in seafood. The estuary is spanned by the Maza bridge with its 28 arches and atop the hill sits the castle and the church of Santa Maria de los Angeles.

It was a lovely place to have a little leg stretch, a beer in the sunshine and sample some Padron peppers, chiorizo in cider and a lovely salad. Well, you might as well start as you mean to go on! 😝

Oh, and you have to have a photo taken in the little boat………so cute. Lunch was walked off with a stroll to the castle at the top of the hill to admire the old town and views over the estuary. I spotted my first Camino signs which always make me smile, and it was the perfect place to get into that relaxed holiday mindset. I was already getting a good feel for the place………..when you get that comfortable feeling and think, “Ah, I feel like I’m going to like it here”. Everyone was really happy and friendly.

It was only a half an hour drive from there to the town where I had decided to base myself for the 9 days………….Llanes. Now, I simply fell in love with Llanes, I adored it. It is a working fishing town and it is really busy and bustling all the time. It has an old town, medieval town walls, churches, restaurants, bars, the prettiest harbour, a busy market, just the best Confitería (cake shop) and lots of ice cream shops! There was nothing to not like about it…………….it was like being deposited in the middle of all my favourite things!😍

The town has an outstandingly beautiful setting. Not only does it have its own three gorgeous beaches of fine golden sand, if you walk a little further out of town in either direction you stumble across the most spectacular beaches ever. They are a little bit like the small coves in Cornwall with the advantage of the food and weather being better and there being no British people. 😂 And there is so much space on them.

I had booked an apartment through one of the major apartment booking portals and it very much exceeded my expectations. It was on the third floor of a small apartment block which overlooked the entrance to the harbour. It was out of the way of the main harbour, tucked away and really quiet, but had a fantastic sea view. It would have slept four, so there was lots of room for me and it was really well equipped. It felt like a home away from home rather than a holiday let, as the gentleman who owns it, quite obviously lives there when he’s not working away so it had lots of personal touches including a turntable and fantastic vinyl record collection which you were free to use! It looked like he was a child of the 70’s like me so there were some classics to choose from and plenty of opportunity for a little living room disco!

It had a chaise longue style sofa in the living room window which overlooked the renovated stone fishing sheds. I love to people watch and watch the world go by and spent so much time with the windows wide open just watching the fishing boats come in and out in the morning and evening, with all the fishermen sat outside mending their nets during the day. It was the perfect book reading and people watching spot in the sunshine.

For breakfast I had the same thing every morning…………………….CAKE!!!!! At home I never have cake for breakfast, it’s just not an English thing. I either have yoghurt and granola with fruit, or plain porridge with honey. However, when I’m in Spain or Italy I have cake! Not the same cake each day, but a different one every morning. I get out of bed, have a little stretch, sometimes a little run if I get up feeling energetic, and trot to the cake shop……..as it has to be a fresh cake. Llanes quite simply has one of the best cake shops I have ever been in, and I am most embarrassed to say that by the time I departed I was well known in it!🤣It’s called the Confitería Vega and you must go if in Llanes. My favourite was the Bomba de Crema which I can only describe as like a split, icing sugared, very light, brioche type roll filled with custard. But I also liked the lemon meringues, nut and caramel tarts, almond croissants, icing covered swirls, custard tarts, chocolate Cubos de la Memoria and chocolate cherries……………………………I tried them all!!!🤣

There’s a lovely cafe around the corner too, in the main square, where you can get an excellent coffee and watch the world go by when you’ve indulged in your cake!

My first day was spent in Llanes, wandering, because when I arrive somewhere I like to have a really good look around and just relax a little. I was also tired from travelling as I’d literally finished work and then left for the airport six hours later as I like to maximise my time away. It was a bit of an overcast day but dry.

The first thing you notice on the breakwater are hundreds of brightly painted concrete blocks. They are a permanent art installation on both sides of the harbour entrance, but obviously serve a purpose as a breakwater. Los Cubos de la Memoria (The Cubes of Memory) were completed in 2006 and are a must see in the town.

All three of the town’s beaches are worth noting: El Sablon, Puertu Chicu and Toro. They are all different. El Sablon is the busiest town beach with all the amenities close by. Puertu Chicu is a little hidden and full of locals but it disappears at high tide. I think my favourite was Toro, just because of its natural setting and the unusual rock formations all along the beach which make it really sheltered and provide a perfect back rest if you are a beach book reader like me.

On the other side of the town from Toro beach is the access to the cliff top promenade. This is a long grassed walkway along the top of the cliff. It has the most outstanding view of the town down below and is lined with benches for you to sit and rest, and telescopes for you to take a look out to sea. On a weekend and on a sunny evening all the town seemed to be up here stretching their legs. A very friendly and convivial meeting spot. It’s also perfect for that early morning or late evening jog for anyone that likes a little run like me.

By the time I’d done all the above I was hungry and tired again. Llanes has some fantastic seafood and I love squid so my fist day was finished off with a lovely plate of Calamares a la Romana (Squid) followed by a little Vermut in the harbour which made me all sleepy and ready for my comfy bed.

In terms of places to eat and bars there are just so many to choose from in Llanes and the surrounding area. There are numerous Siderias where you will get the traditional Asturian dishes and cider, then there are tapas restaurants, pizzas……..you name it and it will be there. When I fancied a change I even found an excellent Mexican to satisfy my need for a Tequila cocktail because when you are on holiday you just have to have a cocktail don’t you?!😂

The following day I was ready for a bit of an explore. The good thing about being based in Llanes is that it has a little train station. But it’s not just any old railway line. They call it the FEVE and it’s a little narrow guage railway line which runs all along most of the Northern coast of Spain. The train only comes a couple of times a day and it’s extremely slow! It chugs along, hooting at every road crossing, and goes from small village to small village all along the coast. Some stations it stops at as a matter of course, and others, in small villages, you have to request it to stop. It is so scenic as you trundle along through the villages and fields of animals, with intermittent glimpses of the sea.

The railway line follows closely the route of the Camino del Norte and I love to walk so I had a little plan to get on the morning train to a small village called Pendueles around 15km from Llanes, pick up the Camino path and walk all the way back to Llanes on the Camino. So off I went with the orange rucksack to catch the little train. Pendueles is a request stop so I made sure to tell the conductor when I got on that I wanted it to stop there.

It was a sleepy little village but it had that all important little village café in which to get that café con leche before starting to walk.

This must have been my slowest walk ever! It took me all morning to walk around 5 miles. Not that it was difficult, anyone could have walked it. It was just so beautiful! I just had to keep stopping, taking photographs and just absorbing my surroundings. Spring is surely a beautiful time to visit…………..so very green, lots of wildlife and so many beautiful flowers……………..just like the world is waking back up after hibernating for winter.

I just wandered along following the yellow arrows, through fields and woods and the path kept leading me from one beautiful beach to another. And when I say beautiful I don’t just mean a little bit beautiful but outstandingly beautiful. Turquoise sea, golden sand, big blue skies, fluffy clouds, the sound of the waves on the rocks and absolutely no-one on some of them. They were deserted………….it was stunning. So the book kept coming out and I just had to keep stopping. But there was no rush, I was on holiday and that’s what holidays are for!

I then accidently discovered my best find of the day. I was hungry so looked on my phone to see where I might be able to get some food. As if by luck, around 1km off the path was a village called Vidiago. It was 1pm by now, but it said there was a place called Sidreria Casa El Rubiu that was open. I walked through the very pretty but quiet village to reach the other side where I could see a number of cars parked and I could hear lots on conviviality going on. Well this really was my best find of the day. I was warmly welcomed and sat in a lovely flower filled courtyard and taken through the menu. I said I wanted to try something local but I was hungry so the waiter suggested I might like to try a small Cachopo. He explained it was two thin fillets of veal fried in breadcrumbs, but sandwiched between the two pieces of veal are cheese and dried cured meat of your choice. He said his choice would be with Cecina (a dried, smoked, cured beef from around Leon), and Cabrales cheese (a cheese local to the area of Asturias). So that’s what I ordered and where my love affair with Cachopo began…………………it is delicious! It came with potatoes and peppers and filled the hungry hole in my tummy. I was also informed that if I wasn’t driving I had to have it with cider as a Sidreria is a ‘cider house’ so that’s the menu…………………cider and traditional cooking.

However, I have to inform you that I poured half my cider on the patio!😂 And it was not by choice. In these parts they pour the cider into the glass from a great height and just a few mouthfuls worth at a time. They drink that bit and then pour a bit more into the glass. This is because it creates effervescence and foam which helps to release the cider’s aromas and taste. So I had a little lesson, was poured my first few mouthfuls, and was then left on my own to practice! It did not go too well but I reckon I drunk about half of the bottle and shared the other half with the floor but by the end of the meal my technique had improved significantly! And I have to say that by the end of the week I’d drunk that much cider I’d got it off to a fine art.😆

So I bid them a farewell around 3pm and carried on my way. The afternoon involved more flowers, more beaches, animals and coffee stops. I also discovered the ‘Bufones de Arenillas’! These natural rock formations sounded fantastic but you would have to come on a stormy day to see them at their best. Basically water comes rushing under the sea cliff and escapes up through the holes with the water pressure shooting the water up in a 20 metre high column. The photos of it on the information board looked fantastic but it was a calm day so on that particular day you could only hear the thunderous roar of the water but there was not enough pressure to force it through the hole. The noise was still impressive though.

I rolled into Llanes at around 8pm just as the sun was falling in the sky and just had time for a little nightcap (alcoholic drink) before retiring for the night as I had deserved it after all that walking!

The following day it was dull and overcast, the perfect day for a city visit so I drove to the city of Oviedo, just over an hour away from Llanes. It’s a really nice, compact city and you can definitely see the main sights in a day. If you make your way to the tourist information office in the old town they will arm you with a map and show you the main sights to visit.

It has the lovely cathedral of San Salvador in the Plaza de la Catedral that is worth a look at. Around the corner is another lovely square called the Plaza del Fonton. It is a lovely old, arcaded square with a number of cafes and restaurants and is also where the market is held on certain days. It has lots of lovely old buildings with flower filled window boxes. It is really pretty and a good spot for a coffee.

One thing I did notice about Ovideo was the abundance of statue castings in the streets. There are so many dotted all over the city. There’s one of La Gitana or ‘Gypsy Woman’, one of ‘La Bella Lola’ sat on a bench in Plaza Del Fonton, La Pescadera in one square and one of the Milkmaid in another. There’s also a statue of Woody Allen and I could not quite work out why Oviedo would have a statue to him. Anyway, it turns out he fell in love with Oviedo and set part of his film Vicky Christina Barcelona there.

There’s also a lovely park on the edge of the city which is worth having a walk around. It’s called the Campo de San Francisco. There is a band stand, more statues, lots of lovely planting and it’s just generally a lovely peaceful place. It also has a much loved and visited statue sat on a bench……………that of Mafalda. She is a well known 6 year old little girl cartoon character from an Argentine comic strip……………..have a little look and sit with her……she’s cute!

So that was my little whirlwind tour of Oviedo. It did not even take a day so on the way back I called at another fishing town, Ribadesella. It’s ok there and I can imagine it gets very busy in summer as it has a lovely beach………….but I did not like it as much as Llanes. It seemed to lack that buzz and atmosphere, but maybe it was because the weather was dull and everyone was inside.

I did however, spot an interesting monument of two men in a canoe. The Sella river enters the sea at Ribadesella and apparently a very popular pastime it to descend the river right from the roman bridge in Cangas de Onis in the mountains, 20km away, to Ribadesella. In fact it’s that popular it is an annual international canoeing event and the statue is there on the winners promenade to mark and celebrate the fastest descents of the Sella river.

Four lovely days in the Picos de Europa mountains followed which I’ll do a separate post on, as there is so much to tell you about the Picos, and mountains are either your thing or they are not, so I’ll not bore you with my mountain adventures now.

After my three days walking and exploring the Picos de Europa I decided to have a little running adventure. But when I say running I mean more of a jog………that way I could cover more miles than walking but not tire myself out. I decided to catch the FEVE in the other direction, west, and get off at a village 16 miles away called Nueva. Then the plan was to jog back the 16 miles to Llanes, taking all day with regular stops.

It was another beautiful day and the 16 miles west of Llanes is just as pretty as the 16 miles East. There were more cows, beautiful beaches, big cloudy skies, cool rock formations………….

………………then some scuplture, more pretty flowers and a very good lunch stop in Niembru at ‘La Parrilla del Cuera’ where they made me a delicious tuna salad.

On leaving Niembru you come to a really pretty estuary and on an outlet sits the very photogenic church of Parroquia Nuestra Senora de los Dolores. Then there were more beautiful beaches and donkeys.😍 Fortunately I did not get lost. I was following the Camino in reverse so there were no signs going in my direction. But it was quite straightforward………..just up and down winding lanes which ran close to the sea. There were more cows and I discovered a unique talent I have for talking to sheep………I baaaa ……….and they all baaaaa back………..it’s the little things that amuse me! 😂

Then I came to a fantastic spot to watch the waves crashing on the rocks………………I could have sat here for hours as I just love that sound.

I started to get a glimpse of Llanes ahead of me, sat on the clifftop. It was not before time as I was starting to get a little weary. It was nice to see Llanes from a different angle though. A birds eye view of the town tucked behind Playa de Sablon.

Just time then for a quick shower and change of clothes ready for a little wander around town and a well earned beer!

Just one day left to enjoy and I suddenly realised I’d come on holiday, and although I’d had a big mental rest, I’d not really had much of a physical rest other than first thing in the morning and the evening, as there was so much to see and do. So I made it in my way to have a rest day in Llanes. The day started as it always does……………with cake!

It was a lovely sunny day so I sat on a cliff top bench, using my beach towel as a cushion, for a few hours to read my book.

Then it was coffee time in the square because I can’t sit for more than a few hours without moving. 😆

I spent the afternoon on my favourite beach……..Toro……….reading my book and watching the contrasting storm clouds roll across the mountains, whilst I sat in the glorious sunshine on the beach.

Then every beach visit has to be enhanced with a cool beer and a packet of Lays!

All that was left to see of Llanes was a little walk up to the hill top castle like church of Ermita Virgen de la Guía to watch the sunset on a fantastic week away. Oh…….I just had time to slip in another Vermut!

I left for Bilbao the following morning for my afternoon flight and this time I broke up the journey in Santillana del Mar. I was only there for two hours but this was such a pretty medieval town for a walk around and a coffee in the square if you are ever in the area. There is some pre-historic art in some caves nearby but I did not have time to look so that will have to be something for next time.

So that’s Asturias for you……………..well this little corner of Asturias anyway.

It’s outstandingly beautiful and I just have to come back this summer during my month in Spain and surrounding areas. I’m going to do some walking but I also have this little plan to ride a little bit more of the FEVE and just stop at random places along the route to see some more little coastal towns and go with the flow. I also need to come back for cheese!!! I fitted as much Cabrales into my carry on as possible but I’ve eaten it already! I just love cheese and in Northern Spain and Basque country you can get fantastic cheese. In fact that very British supermarket with an M and an S in the title have now become aware of the gorgeousness of Basque cheese and have started stocking a DOP Ossau Iraty French Basque cheese and it’s really nice if you want to taste what I’m talking about. I came back with a large quantity of Idiazabal from Bilbao last summer, with it all bulging out of the top of my rucksack.😂 So the objective this summer will be to travel a light as possible so I can export as much cheese as possible from Northern Spain and Basque Country for my own consumption! You’ll smell me before you see me at Bilbao airport!😆

Anyway, my summer is fast approaching, when I leave the country for over a month and don’t have much time to write. I’m going to some familiar places, some new places and am really excited about making some more exciting memories and learning some new things to tell you about.

There will be some time in Crete too, a lot of time in Spain including a very well known festival and a Camino. And then a really exciting short trip to Chamonix Mont Blanc in the last week of August where something very exciting is happening (it’s a secret) which I will be able to tell you about in September. I’ll be back later in the summer or in September, if not before, so watch this space and have fun.

The city of love and romance! That’s where I went at Easter. It seems such a long time ago though as so much has happened since. Firstly I have a child back home for summer! I have them both back home for the weekend, but one is here until September and I love it when they come back. The novelty did wear off a little bit when he was left home alone for a week while I went to Spain. Let’s just say it looked like he’d had rather a good time in my absence. 😆 But the damage was minor and I can let these things go, in the grand scheme of things, as they are not that important…………..well except the lawn damage. I have a little chunk of plaster missing from a wall due to a small accident he had with the weights during a workout …………………… but during his boys back garden BBQ gathering, a patch on my lawn has been used as a toilet! Because you know how difficult it is to walk from a garden to a toilet (when you have 4 to choose from) when you are 20 years of age. So now my pride and joy……….my lovely green and striped lawn is complete with a couple of circles of dead yellow grass. 😂 But it will grow back and I’m not going to sweat the small stuff, I don’t do that anymore!

Other than that I’m just trying to avoid all things general election. I’m not affiliated to any political party but will cast my vote as I think it’s important that you do. I read the news so I will just choose who I think will be the best person going forward and I’ll probably not decide until a minute before I vote. I haven’t got the time in my life to listen to a group of people having a live argument and slanging match on TV for one hour and taking up valuable airtime night after night until 4th July. Honestly, it’s like standing out in the Key Stage One playground at work for an hour. And you just never know who to believe. Anyway, off my soapbox and onto my little trip to Paris.

It was a trip with a bit of a difference……………I’d gone to run the Paris marathon so I don’t know if that skewed my perception of it a little, but here I am, still in one piece, to tell you about Paris. I’ll do a separate post on the Marathon as I’m still processing my thoughts on that, and what I felt about Paris and what I felt about the marathon are at bit of a juxtaposition.

I arrived on the Wednesday after Easter Sunday, mid-afternoon and had three full days to spend in Paris before the Marathon and my return on Sunday.

However, going as a tourist and going as a marathon runner do not sit well together, as I now realise. I did see a lot of the city but tried to limit my walking miles and use the metro as the objectives of those three full days were to acclimatise, sleep a lot, feed well and mentally prepare myself.

Being in a city as big and vibrant as Paris made that quite difficult, certainly the sleeping, resting and mental preparation. Paris is not the place to do that!

I might be in the minority of people when I say I probably would not return to the city. It was ok, but for me there are much nicer cities. I’m not a fan of the huge cities, I prefer smaller ones. I found it overpriced, overated and far too chaotic and busy for my liking…………but like I say, that might be because I was trying to get myself into a place of calm and focus and I found that hard here. It’s just my opinion, and millions of people love it, so don’t let me put you off, I just don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to enjoy it properly. It’s still definitely worth a visit.

There were, however, elements that I loved………….I didn’t dislike it all so here goes………..my whistle stop tour and opinion of Paris.

First of all, getting from the airport to the city…………cheapest and most efficient way I found was the RER B rail line which runs right from the airport to the city centre and links with the metro. It’s a 30 to 40 minute journey and will set you back 11 euros. More expensive than the transfers in other cities like Madrid for instance but lots cheaper and quicker than a taxi which would no doubt get stuck in the traffic and will cost you at least 4 to 5 times the price. The inner city metro in Paris is very similar to that in London, it’s a cost effective way of getting around the central city, but like London it’s very overcrowded, extremely old and is filthy dirty………….I hated it but it served it’s purpose.

In terms of accommodation I absolutely loved where I stayed. I’m always looking for that bit of peace and quiet in the middle of the throng of the city and I found it……..my little oasis. I did not want to be in the middle of the hustle and bustle and noise. In the middle of the River Seine there are two natural islands. One of them, the Ile de la Cite is quite large and contains the Notre Dame Cathedral so that one is quite busy. However, next to it, over a bridge, is the much smaller and very cosmopolitan Ile Saint-Louis.

It is so quaint, quiet and pretty. Full of gorgeous old architecture, nice cafes, restaurants, independent shops, a pretty park, small boutique hotels and best of all………with hardly any cars or traffic. It is like a little haven in the middle of the city.

I loved it on the island and I particularly liked the hotel I stayed in which was Hotel Saint-Louis L’Isle. It was a nice small hotel but the rooms were so lovely, spacious, spotlessly clean and the bed was so comfy. There were the usual tea and coffee facilities in the room and lots of lovely toiletries. It had a lovely 24 hour reception staffed by really helpful and friendly staff. The only minor improvement would have been the addition of a bathrobe and slippers as I do like to lounge around in a fluffy bathrobe and slippers on a night 😂 (doesn’t everyone, or is it just me!?), particularly as I was trying to get into my calm and relaxed pre-race state. But it’s a minor thing and I’d definitely recommend the hotel.

The hotel offers breakfast but not dinner. It’s quite cost effective to have breakfast and they serve a really good continental breakfast in a basement breakfast room. Each table has a huge dish of pastries and the self service buffet offers eggs, meats, cheeses, cereals, yoghurts, cakes, fruit juices and a selection of tea and coffee. It was a really good arrangement and good value for money as Paris is not like Spain and Italy where you can nip in a café and get your breakfast for less than 5 euros. I don’t think I bought one cup of coffee alone that cost less than 5 euros in Paris.

The island is full of lovely restaurants, and fortunately there are all sorts of different nationalities of food available. I’ll tell you more about restaurants when I tell you about my marathon as unusually I was not that adventurous and stuck to Italian as decent portion sizes and carbs were my priorities. I love French food and I love seafood, but neither would have fulfilled the objective and would have been a bit of a risky strategy. So unusually, this post is not going to be my usual foodie post telling you all about the local food.

It was also slightly different to my usual trips in that I spent 4 and a half days in total in Paris and not a drop of alcohol passed my lips! 😂 I absolutely love a drink or two when on holiday and 4 days of questionable quality coffee and carbonated water took it’s toll, I was quite tetchy by day 4!

Wednesday night consisted of a very good pizza in a restaurant on the island followed by an early night in my very comfy bed.

Thursday I had planned to do some sight seeing as I was still 3 days away from the race. The one place I definitely wanted to go was the Louvre art gallery so I booked a ticket and walked there as it was just off the island and a little to the left. Now this was the day that it rained so hard all morning, so a good day to visit an art gallery, but I got soaked on the way there. What did I think to the Louvre? A bit of a mixed bag really.

Building wise it’s impressive, the iconic glass pyramid is striking both from the outside and the inside. You definitely need an advance ticket or you would spend most of your day in a queue, the line is enormous. You also need an audio guide, although the quality of the audio tours when compared to that of the Prado in Madrid are poor. The directions around the museum aren’t that easy to follow, the console is not as user friendly and the GPS jumps around.

In terms of artwork there’s some good stuff, but again, nothing that gave me goosebumps and there are far better pieces in the galleries of Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Florence and London. The Mona Lisa is disappointing, well it was to me. It was much smaller than I expected and there is nothing particularly unique in that painting that you cannot find in many more.

However, there are some lovely frescoed ceilings and some gorgeous sculpture in there. I’d always choose sculpture over a painting and I can walk around and look at a sculpture for ages. Some of them I find just breath-taking…………I still can’t comprehend the skill it takes to take a solid piece of white marble and end up with such a perfect, reconstruction of the human form, including the muscular profile, veins and proportion. But what astounds me even more is the sculptors ability to portray emotion in the face. Take for instance probably my favourite piece in there, ‘Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss’ by Canova. It has to be one of his best works and depicts the mythological duo engaged in a loving gaze. How do you sculpt a loving gaze!?!? I’ve no idea but Canova a has done it perfectly, somehow making a solid form fluid and human.

The light filled Grande Galerie is also quite impressive and leads to another one of my favourites ‘The Sleeping Hermaphrodite’ by Bernini. He is my favourite sculptor and the genius behind ‘The Rape of Proserpina’ in the Borghese Gallery in Rome, which if you like Italian sculpture is an absolute must see.

So there are a few good exhibits in the Louvre and it’s definitely worth going, but I do think it is overrated, is not as good as the galleries in other major cities, and in terms of it’s organisation, it was far too busy and chaotic for my liking.

The afternoon was spent doing marathon things. I had to travel to the outskirts of the city to collect my race bib, register and have a look around the Run Experience Exhibition. It was open Thursday through to Saturday, but attracting around 60,000 runners I wanted to get it out of the way on Thursday when it wasn’t too busy as mentally, I was starting to panic about the whole thing, and just wanted to collect it and then try to forget about it for a few days.

The evening was spent in a lovely little Italian for some pasta, and then a wander over the bridges of the island to look at the Seine all lit up at night.

Friday morning I got up and I just could not face sightseeing. To be quite honest I was in a bit of a state. I cried into my croissants, and filled with self doubt, my marathon demons were getting the better of me. “Snap out of it”, I told myself! I’m normally quite upbeat………I just needed peace, quiet and calm to get my balance back. So where did I go………………..the cemetery!! Yes, I spent half a day in a graveyard!😂 If there is one place you can guarantee peace, calm and serenity it’s in a graveyard. Paris has a huge one called Pere Lachaise. It spans 110 acres and is full of green trees, maze like paths and birdsong. It houses a rich ecosystem which includes includes cyclamen and orchids. According to Wikipedia the cemetery also hosts a population of foxes and 100 species of birds, including flycatchers and owls. It’s a really nice space and is the chosen resting place of more than 1 million people.

I downloaded a map and went on a bit of a grave hunt………………….a bit like a treasure hunt but for dead people. 😆 It’s most famous residents are Edith Piaf, Georges Bizet, Frederic Chopin, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Olivia de Havilland, Sarah Bernhardt, Jim Morrison and Sir Richard Wallace, along with a memorial to Maria Callas, whose remains were there before they were stolen, recovered, and scattered in the Aegean Sea off Greece. It was a really interesting and peaceful morning and I would definitely recommend a visit there if you fancy a quiet, interesting stroll away from the chaos. I was in a much better frame of mind afterwards.

On the way back I walked through an area of Paris called Le Marais. There you will find pretty streets, lots of independent boutique shops, the Jewish quarter and an ice cream shop! Just like a small child……an ice cream always makes me feel better! Outside the ice cream shop is the very lovely Place des Voges where Victor Hugo once lived. It’s a very lovely green, grassed square, with chestnut trees in the middle, a perfect ice cream eating spot. 😋

I then had a little job to do for the architect student of the family. That was to go to the Pompidou Centre and get some photographs. It houses a centre for art and culture but I was just tasked with getting pictures of the outside. It is a quirky building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, and is one of the iconic architectural masterpieces of the 19th century. It is instantly recognisable for its unusual design, in that a large part of its infrastructure, such as the lifts and utilities, are on the outside of the building. There are four primary colour coded colours visible on the exterior: blue for air flows, yellow for electricity, green for water circuits and red for pedestrian flow (escalators and lifts). Anyway, pictures duly taken and sent by WhatsApp, my mission was accomplished.

Most people when they visit Paris go up the Eiffel Tower, but not me! Being scared of heights I went for a little look but decided this was a definite ‘NO’! I could see it just fine from the ground! I would be running past it on the Sunday, and whizzing almost 300 metres up a man made Meccano set in a glass lift, and having to part with £50 to do it, is not my idea of fun! It would have been a complete waste of time, similar to the time I paid to go in the cable car in Barcelona and spent 10 minutes laid on the floor in the bottom of the cabin until I was ejected at the top gasping for breath.😂I have some lovely pictures of what it would be like and you’ll have to make do with those. The Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees are also very much worth a visit.

If you want to visit when it’s a bit quieter, night time is also good as they look wonderful lit up with laser lights emitting from the top.

Friday night involved more pasta and another alcohol free early night. Like I say, not my usual holiday night out!

Saturday was a gloriously sunny 24°C day and I’d promised myself I was not leaving the islands and was having a very easy day. I had a quick early morning walk over to the other island before it got too busy to look at Notre Dame Cathedral. It is huge, but sadly closed at the moment following the fire a few years ago. Renovation looks behind schedule and it does not look like opening is imminent. There is a nice viewing platform and lots of information boards to read about the renovation.

The remainder of the day I spent on Ile Saint-Louis. I wandered around the little shops. There was a pretty flower shop, the most inviting and colourful fruit and veg shop where I bought some home made fig roll biscuits, a delightful little sweet shop and the smelliest cheese shop. I love a cheese shop, the smellier the better. Top prize though went to the antique puppet shop, a very eccentric shop with some of the wierdest wooden puppets I have ever seen. Some of them were really old and some of them were really creepy. The shop appeared to be manned by a real life Geppetto…………it was honestly like walking into Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio but in real life………….I was mesmerised!

I had a couple of little coffee stops and watched the world go by and made my way to the park at the end of the island where I had a couple of hours chilling with my book, a little cat nap and ate my fig rolls.

The final carb load followed, with yet more pasta, and before I knew it my sightseeing time in Paris had come to an end. Just time to organise my little piles for the following morning: running kit; measured out piles of race nutrition, race bib, emergency pain killers; first aid; post race bag and warm dry clothes. Just 12 hours remained which was plenty of time for me to have a restless night and a pre race meltdown! 😂

So that’s my whistle stop tour of Paris. I’m sure there is so much more to do and see but the remainder of my time was given up to the primary purpose of the visit which was the marathon, which I’ll tell you about another time. Like I say, Paris is probably better than my experience portrays it, but marathon running and sightseeing don’t go together, both physically or mentally. So my advice would be, if you want to see Paris properly and enjoy it, don’t run the marathon, just stick to crepes, croissants and Cabernet Sauvignon! 😝

You know what they say don’t you…………………”better late than never!” I’ve only been back three and a half months but I did promise to tell you what I thought of my day trip to Toledo.😆 Then I’ll tell you about Paris and the marathon, and then I’ll have another trip to Spain to tell you about as I’m going on Friday for 9 days because I’m off work for a week. I have some exploring to do, and I need a little break, because summer term is oh so very busy in a school, and a little rest will just nicely revive me ready for the final push to the big summer holidays, when I shall depart the UK for a whole lot longer!

But first a little bit about this week’s diary. To say it’s been a sad week would be an understatement. I have time to tell you about Toledo because I’m having a very quiet, calm weekend in hiding because I need one. One where I can spontaneously cry when I want to and it really does not matter! You see the thing is, on Friday, 2 days ago, I lost a friend, a bestie who was very dear to me and I am absolutely heartbroken beyond words. She was one of my wing men from the ‘A’ team on my wedding photo, mum of Spencer the dog from my previous post and just generally a beautiful, courageous, kind, amazing lady the same age as myself. We knew this was imminent, hence my visit a couple of weeks ago, when she made the very brave decision to cease her treatment after over a decade of battling MND/ALS and also, for the past 18 months, cancer.

But even though you know it’s going to happen it’s tough all the same when you lose someone, and even tougher if you don’t know it’s going to happen. You feel for her family and you also feel that very strange sense of loss, bewilderment, loneliness, and overwhelming sadness yourself. So this weekend I have been in quiet spaces, doing positive things which makes me smile and seen only a couple of people who surround me with love and hugs. And for anyone that’s grieving that is important, to give yourself time to process the thoughts, to have a good cry, to be angry, to be sad, but also to be thankful. Because there were fantastic times too, before all this……….holidays to Greece together, having our children close together, lots of parties, lots of laughs, lots of love and lots of memories which no-one can take away.

So on Friday, the day it happened, all I wanted to do was be alone and cry, and it’s important to do that and let it all out. I’m unable to suppress my emotions so it does all have to come out. Shares in Kleenex tissues will have rocketed this weekend as I’ve got through boxes of them.😆 So I made a picnic for my dinner and and I went alone, up to one of my favourite spots 5 minutes away, the windmills, to watch the sunset, cry and reflect. There was only me there, hundreds of skylarks, complete silence apart from the birds, and it was lovely in a strange sort of way. I felt at peace with the world.

On Saturday I surrounded myself with my garden and flowers. An early morning coffee in the sunshine under my wisteria, which always makes me smile.

Then I planted my planters for summer, assembled my hanging basket and made stripes on my grass because that always cheers me up. 😂 But why do they make those environmentally friendly slug pellets bright blue? Aesthetically it really does mess with my head, I’d like dark brown pellets please.

Then I went to visit my Dad and that always cheers me up because being a true Yorkshireman he’s so funny. Always in his blue overall bottoms, when you ask him what he’s doing his response is always…..”Oh, I’m just pottering, getting out of your mother’s way!” 😆 Well on Saturday, he had a list of pottering jobs that Mum had given him but I caught him having a sneaky little nap on his deckchair in his garden! Well, when you are 85 you need regular breaks! Now, I’m daddy’s girl, like two peas in a pod and it became apparent to me on Saturday where my obsession with lawn stripes comes from, this is the man who has taught me everything I know about lawncare!😂I think his stripes might be straighter than mine and that actually looks like a little criss-cross pattern he’s been experimenting with. That’s one for me to try next week!

Then today I’ve ventured down the road for a lovely coffee and brunch, and a another little cry, with another lovely girlfriend. And then I’ve had a few hours of peace, quiet and calm this afternoon so I thought I’d try and recall a bit about Toledo, because memories of travels always cheer me up. That’s what life’s all about, not the material things but about making memories.

So, Toledo……………..very easy and cheap to get to on the high speed train……………36 minutes from Madrid Puerta de Atocha-Almudena Grandes station, which is walkable from the City Centre (so no metro mishaps 😂). Toledo has a nice little station, very Arabic in style with swaying palm trees outside. If you did not know you were in a Spanish station you could be mistaken for thinking you were in Morocco.

From the station it’s an easy 15 minute walk, uphill, across the Alcantara bridge which spans the Tagus river, and through the gate in the old city walls.

Its quite a majestic looking city from the other side of the river, as it sits up high on top of the hill. You have to remember it was February when I was there so I am wrapped up like a snowman as it was cold, even by British standards!

Toledo is a UNESCO world heritage site and is often known as the ‘City of 3 Cultures’ – those being Christian, Muslim and Jewish. If you like history there is lots for you as it’s a City that everyone has had a turn at ruling!

You will keep walking uphill once you pass through the city walls and eventually come to a smaller Moorish style arch, in front of which stands a statue of Miguel de Cervantes clutching his book. If you don’t know who he is, he’s an Early Modern Spanish writer, author of Don Quixote and whom many regard as the greatest writer in the Spanish language. I’ve never read the book myself so I can’t give you my opinion on whether that is a worthy claim, it’s subjective I guess, like all these book and film reviews are. I’m the only one in our house who thought the recent Amy Winehouse film ‘Back to Black’ was fantastic, and yes I did cry, what a poor tortured soul she was. But I have yet to stay awake though a screening of any of the Star Wars films. 😂 I don’t really do far fetched make believe, but my two at 21 and 23 years old can still watch them over and over again.

Anyway, have yourself a selfie with Miguel, and keep going uphill through the archway and you emerge in the Plaza Major. It’s quite a plain, more modern square, but pleasant, so I sat for a while and had my breakfast and a coffee.

Even as I’m writing this I can’t tell you whether I preferred Segovia or Toledo if you only have time to visit one of them. Neither compare to Salamanca, which I preferred to both. Segovia has the Aqueduct and Alcazar, is much more compact, better from a foodie perspective, and has a friendlier feel to it. Toledo has a much better cathedral, that’s the star of the show in Toledo for me. Overall, I would say the buildings are nicer to look at than in Segovia, as is its setting on the river. It’s also easier to get to from central Madrid. But once you get there it’s much more spread out and does not have as friendly a feel as Segovia. So take your pick, it depends what you are going for because they are neck and neck equal for me.

I thought I’d wander through the streets for a while to look at some of the buildings and walk towards the Manchego cheese museum, yes………they have a museum for cheese………….and I love cheese, including Manchego. It has over one thousand five star reviews on Tripadvisor………………..so imagine my disappointment when I got there and it was closed for a holiday! It sounds fantastic though so I would say go, they do pairings with wine and it sounded just like my sort of thing.

I saw some lovely buildings whilst wandering around. Because Toledo is built on a hill, some of the streets are a bit undulating but I kept getting a glimpse of the very imposing cathedral spire down the alleyways.

Most of the buildings are of a golden stone, similar to Salamanca, and if you look at the carving on them the Muslim influence becomes clear with lots of intricate Moorish designs.

I was, however, still sulking about the closed cheese museum, so seeing as a bit of blue sky had made an appearance, before I went anywhere, I thought I’d cheer myself up with an ice cream.😆There’s an ice cream shop with a few outlets called Martonela and it’s good. Pistachio, Turron, with a wafer, chopped nuts and chocolate sauce put the smile back on my face and any cheese museum disappointment was soon overcome.

Onwards I marched, to the cathedral. This is the must visit whilst in Toledo – Saint Mary of Toledo is its official name. I think out of the four cities I visited on this trip to Spain, this was by far and away the best cathedral. It’s not quite up there with Burgos or Seville in my opinion, but I do think it has the edge over Salamanca cathedral, just because of its ostentatious bling inside! It’s bordering on being over the top, there’s just so much of it.

From the exterior it is absolutely beautiful. It’s really imposing and the bell tower and spire is really pretty. It also has a really ornate door covered in Camino shells.

Then you go inside and it is just a WOW moment. It has it all. Huge barrel vaulted ceilings; lots of gold; beautiful stained glass windows; possibly the most ornate choir stalls I have seen anywhere; carved red marble columns; the most amazing white marble and gold altarpiece.

It also has a beautifully frescoed ceiling, not on the same level as the Sistine Chapel but very beautiful all the same. The highlight for me was an altarpiece called El Transparente. It has a painted cupola with a window at the back which lets the shafts of light shine through and illuminate it, giving it a ‘heaven’ like appearance. Then around the perimeter are various carved figures which look like they are peering down at you from heaven. It it very ethereal.

There is also lots of very valuable artwork. Perhaps the greatest piece in there is by El Greco entitled ‘The Disrobing of Christ’. Not really my thing but if you are into religious art there are some must sees in here.

Toledo’s cathedral also has a very pretty cloister which should not be missed as it is really well tended. One corner of the cloister is also where they store Los Gigantes when not in use. These are giant figures on wheels that they parade through the streets as part of their festivals in Spain. So you can have a close up look at these. Some of them are downright creepy, and I think as a child I would have been absolutely terrified of them. I think it’s the eyes.

I’d seen the Muslim and Christian influences, time then for a little wander through the Jewish Quarter to the other side of town. This was a really pretty area with a number of synagogues and I ended up, after a long walk, at the other side of town at another gate in the city walls. This one is the Puerta del Cambron , previously called the Gate of the Jews. Just to the side of here you can get a good view from the top of the city walls down the River Tagus, very picturesque.

There are some lovely gardens and in general this is a much calmer, more peaceful part of town if you need a little sit down and a break. It just so happened that when I arrived for my sit down it coincided with the arrival of Toledo’s answer to a boy band! 😂 So there was an opportunity for a little sing and dance along …………….. very entertaining.

What else is Toledo famous for…………………..ah yes……………marzipan! But I mean proper marzipan, not the bright yellow stuff you buy in the supermarket in the UK, over processed with preservatives and almond essence. This is the authentic marzipan made quite simply with eggs, ground almonds and icing sugar, toasted brown on the top. Obviously, because it’s not full of flavourings and preservatives it does not have a long shelf life so you might have to eat it before you come home, which I did not find a problem. 😂

The most delicious looking marzipan was in a marzipan shop called Santo Tome, so I bought a small box from there, all nicely wrapped in pink paper and a ribbon. The marzipan comes in all different shapes, and some even have almond nuts and pine nuts on the top. For certain festivals and at Christmas they also make marzipan snakes and eels, which were on display, all curled up in their box with candied fruit adornments and intricately decorated with marzipan. I thought eating a full snake prior to departure back to the UK might be a bit greedy though, so I just settled for my small box!

Just one more place left to visit before my return to Madrid………………..the Alcazar. However, if you are hoping for it to be like Segovia Alcazar you’ll be disappointed. It’s imposing from the outside and visible for miles around…………………it is the huge four towered quadrangle you can see atop the hill as you approach Toledo. However, it is not fully accessible to the public and not maintained as an Alacazar museum. It mainly houses the army and military museum, which isn’t really my area of interest. But it is also home to the public library on the very top floor. In my guidebook it said that entrance to the library was free to anyone, and that there was a library café which had the most amazing views of the whole city. So off I trotted up the many steps (there is an elevator too) for my little caffeine fix and a lovely view. And the guidebook wasn’t wrong, the view over the city in all directions is amazing, worth the climb to the top floor for a coffee and a peek.

So that’s your whistle stop tour of Toledo. Glad I made the effort to come, for the cathedral, marzipan, ice cream and my moment of glory in the boy band………………………it was worth it. It is well deserving of a day trip from Madrid!

So next up, when I return from Spain, will be my verdict on Paris and marathons, I will make an effort not to leave it three and a half months like this one!

Oh, how many times have I wanted to say that. 🤭

Today there aren’t too many words in my blog………………..but there are lots of pictures. Because yesterday I went on the most amazing walk, a bit of training for summer trekking with the orange rucksack. And this walk was just too amazing not to share, you must do it if ever you are near here in the Springtime. Northern England at it’s finest! But why did I go on my walk………………because I wanted to scream the above!

If there are two groups of people that can drain the living daylights out of me they are ‘gobby’ extraverts and negative people. I like to give both a wide berth. But sometimes you can’t escape them and the result for a positive, quiet, happy little person like me is the need for a day like this. ‘Gobby’ by the way, is northern English dialect for someone who likes the sound of their own voice and talks too much!

And why did I want to scream the above!? Because I’m an introvert! Possibly one of the most misunderstood group of people there are………………….if you don’t know what one is then you need to read this book.

The book by Susan Cain is called ‘Quiet’, it’s an amazing book I read years ago ……………………. basically it explains me…………….. if you were ever wondering what makes me tick or you think I’m a bit odd, read it. It only took me around 45 years to work myself out and realise it was just cool, fine and ok to be like me.

If you are an extrovert and have any introverts in your life please read it. Because you may just understand them better…………….they are not sad, they are not depressed, they’ve not fallen out with you……………they just want you to get out of their face and shut up for a while because you might just be ‘doing their head in’! Be quiet!

What you might find as an introvert is that throughout all your professional life……………mine was in banking……………you are surrounded by extroverts who recognise your intelligence (introverts are often highly intelligent), put you on a leadership and management programme, and then spend all their time trying to make you an extrovert! It won’t work however, it’s a bit like square peg and round hole……….if you are an introvert, you are an introvert. They are still trying to force me in that round hole now and have not yet realised that it’s just not going to work! 😆

Can an introvert be a leader? …………………….Yes! A large proportion of leaders are extroverts. Why, well just because they talk a lot really. Even Harvard have now recognised the power of the introvert. There have been many amazing introvert leaders: Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Isaac Newton, Ghandi, Chopin, Barrack Obama. Why do they make great leaders………………………they listen instead of talk!

How do you know if you are an introvert and not just odd. 😂 Well, you are likely to do all these things (I do them all in abundance, there is no doubt whatsoever that I’m 110% introvert if that’s possible):

• I prefer one to one conversations
• I’m more likely, and I prefer, to express my inner most feelings in writing
• I crave solitude
• I hate gossip and chit chat but will spend hours in an in depth conversation with someone about things that matter to me: books, nature, art, music etc.
• I celebrate things on a small scale………………NEVER throw me a surprise party, I’d hate it! I have a close knit circle of amazing friends
• I’m the world’s greatest listener and am extremely softly spoken, kind and compassionate
• I’m not into wealth, fame or status………………I just like love, hugs, animals, cake, books, wine, and chocolate (in any order) 😆
• I dislike conflict in every walk of life………..I don’t hate anyone, if you not my type or you’ve upset me I just walk away, I don’t waste my time fighting
• I get engrossed in what I’m doing……….focus and dedication is my middle name
• I’m ultra sensitive – I feel everything on an emotional level, I have empathy overload! I’m usually to be found either crying or laughing!
• I love a night out and a party, so long as I’m not the centre of attention, and I really enjoy myself, but afterwards I need a day like today to recover from people, noise and extrovert overload
• I can spend 10 minutes in the company of someone and that’s all I need to know them better than they know themselves! I see through everything………..my boys hate this…………….you can’t lie to Mum!
  

So if you do just some of those things you might not be as odd as some people think you are. 😂 You might just be an introvert. But chill because that’s just fine. You can still be a leader if you want to be, you can still be brave too. Introverts are more likely to be brave………….bravery comes from self confidence and facing fears………..nothing else. An introvert will have to draw on their self-confidence and face fears every day in a predominantly extrovert world. An extrovert however is often gobby and talkative because of the need to be heard and a lack of self confidence and bravery.

So here you go…….photos above and below (in order of walking)…………..the High Wheeldon, Parkhouse Hill and Chrome Hill circular. 14km and 700m of ascent just to prove that Northern England is truly gorgeous in the Springtime. But don’t tell too many people……………….let them all go South to London and leave this little corner for introverts like me.

There were lambs, flowers in abundance, cows, beer, cake, Yorkshire tea, roast beef sandwiches from home, a book in my rucksack, mud, blue sky, green fields, views, tinkling steams, clouds…………………………………an absolute introvert’s paradise!!!

This introvert has batteries fully recharged and is ready for this next week’s onslaught of ‘noise’ and extroverts! Enjoy the photos!

It’s taken so long to process this and write my thoughts on it. One reason being it takes a few weeks for everything to settle, to return back to normal routine and to actually work out what you thought to it. The second reason is I’ve been busy having a new bathroom and working in my other role as glorified, unpaid personal assistant, also known as ‘Mum’. Because everyone turns to the organised, reliable family member (me😁) when they need something doing and want it doing properly.

Next week I’ll just have time to tell you about Asturias, and after that you might have to wait for the Picos de Europa update until September because I’ve run out of time and I’m having my usual two month hiatus from writing because I have lots of summer exploring planned and I don’t like to take my laptop or tablet, and don’t think I’ll have time to write. If I’m quiet and don’t have time to post, worry not, just like Arnie “I’ll be back”, hopefully with tales of some adventures.

So in ‘other news’, this week I have the eldest child back. There was me thinking he’d returned because he was missing me only to learn that he just needed a full time personal assistant for the week, one that he didn’t have to pay, fed him, did his washing and acted as taxi. 😂 It only took him 10 minutes to blurt out that he was going travelling and needed someone to help him plan his trip to Peru and Bolivia! He has two months to travel post University before he starts work so he’s going to explore a little more of South America.

Who is he going with…………………..just himself! He’s been to Ecuador with a group of friends before, fell in love with South America and is eager to return. Myself and his Dad are fine with it, but Grandma (my Mum) is mortified! And apparently, according to her, like most things, it’s dangerous and it’s all my fault for taking him travelling from being tiny to places like the Arctic Circle. 😂 But for me travelling is the best way to teach them and expand the mind. I’ve taken them both to all sorts of places. You can teach them history in a classroom I know, but I will never forget their little faces when I stood them in Tyne Cot cemetery to show them the reality of what war looks like, the true cost. So here I am, assisting in the planning of a trip to Peru and Bolivia, secretly proud that I have brought up a fellow explorer that is confident enough to embark on such a solo trip and has such a thirst for knowledge of other countries and cultures like his Mum, and secretly a little bit jealous because I want to go too!!!😂😂

In other news…………….I’ve had a new bathroom, so that’s taken a little of my time up. I’ve lived in the same house for over 20 years and never had a new bathroom. It was looking really dated and was falling apart. I got fed up of fixing the shower door which kept dropping off and what with the loss of friends recently I thought life is too short and you can’t take it with you, so have your new bathroom! So now, if I’m not busy doing anything else, I’m in my shower fiddling with my shiny knobs and lights. I love it! 😍😍 I’ve never been so clean!

I’ve also been doing my usual running which this week has included a 10k PB at just over 50 minutes which I’m quite pleased with at 53 years of age; a trophy for the Boundary Relay Race 1st place V50 Ladies team; and a silver medal for being the second placed ladies team at another race. So quite a good week for running, and therefore an appropriate time to tell you what I thought about marathon running!

Right then, the Paris Marathon. Am I glad I did it?……………….A resounding YES!

Would I do another?…………………ABSOLUTELY NOT……NO WAY! It’s not for me!

Everyone said “Oh you’ll get the marathon bug and be entering another”, but honestly, there is no way I would do it again.

The main reason is it just takes over your life. If I’m doing something I’m doing it properly and committing, I’m not the sort of person who can do anything half heartedly. So as soon as I signed up for it I took it seriously. But the only thing I can liken it to is having a baby. It’s nine months of nurturing and preparation, a good few hours of extreme pain and pushing yourself to the limit, then at the end out pops the medal and t-shirt! 😂

If you are hell bent on doing one, definitely do one in the Autumn. It’s five nights a week of training and doing that through the Spring and Summer has to be better than Autumn and Winter. I wouldn’t do another simply because of that. I have lots of hobbies, interests and friends, and having to put those on hold for months made me realise how important they all are, and I’m not willing to make that sacrifice again.

I did it in the first place as a personal challenge…….one of those bucket list items when you get older, when there’s that little niggle in the back of your mind which keeps saying “I wonder if I could?”.

I chose Paris simply because I hadn’t been there before, it’s quite close, fitted with the school holidays, I don’t really like London, and it’s easy to get into Paris marathon…..there’s no ballot.

Can anyone run a marathon? ………………………I believe so yes, as long as they have no underlying medical conditions which means they can’t. I now realise that a marathon is only 30% physical………..70% is about mental strength and resilience. And this is the race that very nearly broke me in that respect! 😂

So first thing………….training! What a complete bore! I just run to enjoy. I bumble about, don’t care how fast or slow, and eat cake! I have only one speed really, and smile while I’m running. But forget that if you are training for a marathon. People start throwing words at you like form, strides, fartleks, intervals, splits, core training, nutrition…………….WHAT?!?! So, armed with a training plan, which I googled and found on ‘Runners World’, the first task was to find out what all these foreign words were and mix up my training plan. So Monday was interval training and speedwork (my worst day as I don’t have a ‘fast’ speed), Tuesday just a steady 10k, Wednesday was core training, Thursday was my favourite steady trot around the block, Friday was 5k or 10k as fast as I could (another horrid day), Saturday was rest day (my favourite day 😆) and Sunday was long run day (ok providing it was planned around a café lunch or cake at the end!).

I hated this regime! Believe me I can throw a better tantrum than a 2 year old you’ve just taken sweets off. If I’m cold, wet, hungry or in pain I’m horrible…….there’s no other way to describe me, I’m not the best version of me. Being in a running club and having runners in the family, I have a few running heroes in my life. Those running heroes have led me on training runs, been brave enough to point out my wrong doings and resilient enough to ignore the shit and abuse I’ve blurted out at them when 16 miles into a training run and I’ve lost the will to live. 😆 So to those people I would like to say two things……………….thank you and sorry! You definitely need people like these in your life as part of your training plan, who know what you are going through, have been there, and won’t take it personally!

Second thing…………………….food. I don’t think about it…..I just eat it! But I can now proudly declare that I can reel off the carb content of numerous items without looking. I can tell you that 4 Bassetts Jelly Babies contain 20g, a pack of Shot Blocks 50g, a Soreen mini malt loaf 20g………………I really am that sad! I know that I need 50g of carbs per hour to prevent the onset of a tantrum 😆, I learnt at my expense to take some caffeine free things. I spent many runs trying different foods, working out which didn’t upset my stomach and which were the most efficient to carry, being small in size and high in carbs. Never in my life did I imagine it would be so technical!

Third thing …………………. injury! I already have a small stomach hernia which meant I’d had to adjust and cut out some core weights training. But step up the distance and the speed on tarmac at 53 years of age and you will most likely pick up an injury. In my case the onset of piriformis syndrome and some general wear and tear and aggravation between my third and fourth vertebrae. That entailed, quite literally a pain, in my ass, lower back and down my left leg as my sciatic nerve was impacted. So January saw me visit the physio for the first time in my life when it got so bad I was in pain all the time, not just when running. So what followed were fortnightly visits to the physio for three months, half an hour of exercises twice a day every day, and a colour coordinated display of kinsio tape all over my back. I have to say though, I’m not complaining because when you get to a certain age a fortnightly bottom massage by a young male physio is a highlight! 🤭

So all this was going on for months………………training, nutition, physio. Everyone except myself thought I could do it. The only self doubt was my own. It all sort of fell apart about a month before the race.

Physio and training were going ok and I realised I was actually going to make it to the start line. So I had a little plan. I decided to raise a little bit of money for my chosen charity………UNICEF. Now this is where the 70% mental strength comes in because this is where the wheels fell off for want of a better term. I’d now gone and announced to everyone that I was running a marathon. Very few people knew until that point. Much to my delight the sponsorship money for UNICEF came flooding in. However, what I had done was just apply a huge amount of pressure over and above that pressure and self doubt I was already piling on myself. I started to fall apart mentally.

I’m normally Mrs Positive Pants! But I don’t know what happened. I’d had an horrendous training run…….my last big one, just over 20 miles in three hours twenty minutes. I had been in terrible pain for the last few miles. I’d kept going but tears were streaming down my face. I completely fell apart. On that particular day there was no way I could have run another 6 miles, I was absolutely broken. I also knew that I had run out of time to get another long run of that size in. I had a physio appointment the following week and he worked so hard…………..massage, acupuncture, taping………..everything.

So the time had come to depart to Paris on the Wednesday before the Marathon on Sunday and the marathon demons had well and truly taken over. “I know what I’ll do”, I thought, “I’ll have my nails done!” 😂😂 Because that was really going to help wasn’t it?!?! Well actually it did because every girl likes a little pamper……………….I’m no exception to that rule………….. and having my nails painted a lovely positive pretty pink for Paris did make me feel better. A bit of self love never hurts.

The journey to Paris went to plan and I thought I might settle a bit when I got there but I didn’t. I was so anxious. Anxious like I have never felt before. I’m not a road runner, I’m a trail runner. Trail runners are a different breed. We forget to stop our watches as we don’t really care about the time. Road runners are obsessed by time…………I wish I had a £ for everytime I’ve been asked “How quick do you want to do it?” or afterwards, “What was your time?” So I’d just mumbled that I hoped to do it in 4 hours 30 minutes, I’d completely made it up as I didn’t even know if I could finish. I just wanted to run it all without stopping and finish! That was the goal.

But then you become obsessed. I started googling “What is the average marathon finish time for a 53 year old women?” But then something really interesting popped up it said “The average 50 year old women does not run a marathon, you’ll be faster than the 99% of the population that have never run a marathon.” So very true! “Pull yourself together”, I thought.

So I spent a couple of days wandering around Paris which I’ve already told you about. But it was a bit like being on a roller-coaster. I cried into my breakfast every morning, then I got myself together, then I fell apart again, and so it went on. Carbohydrate loading in Paris was good. I think my favourite was the galette with stewed apples, caramel sauce and ice cream. I did get into trouble when I asked for a ‘crepe’ though. I got a little eye roll and that “she’s obviously British look”. But it looked like a crepe to me! Apparently a galette is made with buckwheat flour, not regular flour like a crepe. How was I to know?! At least I didn’t ask for a ‘pancake’ which is what we call them at home, that would have really been the end of the straw for the waiter I think, and confirmation that the Brits are in town! 😆

Anyway…….the day of the marathon arrived. I’d slept quite well, forced some breakfast down, had my protein porridge, taken some anti- inflammatories and been to the toilet arout 15 times! 😂That’s quite usual for me………I have a very intense flight or flight response. The hotel was around 4 miles from the start and unfortunately all the roads were closed by now, I couldn’t get a taxi and the metro was heaving. So I had a cunning plan………I downloaded an app, unlocked one of those city bikes complete with bell and basket and and off I went whizzing through Paris on my bike like Mary Poppins. I only had to run 26.2 miles so a 4 mile warm up on a bike wouldn’t hurt! 😂I’d not anticipated the cobbles and arrived at the start a little shaken (literally). I was a bit early so dashed in a café to grab a coffee, sort myself out and use the toilet (again!).

I arrived at the start in a complete and utter mess, there is no other way to describe it. I’d been in every portaloo from the entrance shute to the start line, felt physically sick and had tears streaming down my face. I have honestly never been so terrified in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like it before and I hope I never feel like it again. I’m not 100% sure what it was, I think it was a number of things. The thought of not finishing, the thought of not running it all, the thought of the pain, the thought that everyone was tracking me (I’d had to turn off my phone the night before), I just hate being the centre of attention but you can’t raise money without telling anyone what you are doing can you!😆 It was the most bizarre feeling and so out of character because I’m normally very brave.

And then you start looking around and everyone else looks like they are an Olympic runner. They’ve got all this equipment on and all these accessories strapped to them and all these fancy food supplements. I’ve got half a sharing pack of Jelly Babies, some Soreen and my calf sleeves on (which the lovely girls at work bought for me for my birthday because I kept getting cramp😍). And then they all start stretching and doing a workout routine, at which point I need the toilet again!

So I had my last visit to the toilet, started my watch, and set off. I can’t explain what happened but as soon as I went over the start line the anxiety just lifted. It was just the anxiety of anticipation. I’d got my strategy, it was so well practiced, I just had to stick to it. And I think that is the key to running a marathon for me……….have a strategy, make sure it’s your strategy and no-one elses, and stick to it. Everyone will run a marathon differently and I think that was my problem, there were so many people telling me all different things and I was getting myself in a real panic as I did not know who to listen to. But they key is………listen to you and no-one else………because only you knows you the best!

So what was my strategy:

• To run no faster than a 9:30 mile pace, but to run it consistently for 26.2 miles. I knew from experience that to run faster would mean my pain would start sooner. Running at this pace I knew I should be relatively pain free until around mile 18 and would have a better chance of running to the finish.
  
• To eat 25g of carbs every 30 minutes and take them on board 1k before every 5k aid station.
  
• To take a little water to wash down my carbs every 5k and make sure I stayed hydrated without drinking to much in one go and having it all sloshing around.
  
• To take anti inflammtories again at 15k then they’d be working by 20k and would give me 3 hours of reduced pain.
  
  To try and enjoy it and shut myself off from the ‘negative Nellies’ and all the ‘noise’.

So that’s the key………………….RUN YOUR OWN RACE!

That’s what I did. I trotted around Paris and tried to enjoy it as best as I could. I entered this rather surreal parallel mindset……..call it a zone, a focus, call it what you want, I’m not sure. It’s written on my face in most of the pictures…………………I think it must be my ‘race face’. 😂 I am completely unaware of my surroundings…………………….I ran 26.2 miles without speaking to anyone and missed all the sights including the Eiffel Tower! 😂 At one point, around 15 miles in I even felt quite giddy, excited and out of my own body. I can’t really explain it and thought it might have been too much caffeine. I explained it to a friend who suggested I might have experienced a ‘runners high’. 😂 We both found that absolutely hilarious because the last person you would expect to get a ‘runners high’ is me!!!!! I’ve had plenty of ‘runners lows’ but never a ‘high’!

When I look back now I realise I had no need to be nervous…………………I was so well prepared. I was unprepared for cobblestones, and as a result my toe nails have taken a bit of a beating but other than one blister on the ball of my right foot I was pretty unscathed. It is an uphill marathon from 35k which is not the best place for the elevation to start gaining, but it’s not uphill by Yorkshire standards. My pace slowed slightly between 35k and 40k and there were a lot of people walking but I did not notice the hill too much. My splits were pretty even and I’m pleased with them.

You will see some people in some real states of difficulty. I never realised how much roadside vomiting occurred in a marathon! 😂But pace yourself and you should keep everything in your tummy. I look a bit pale and green in my finish photo and I did feel sick but my final 3k were my fastest and I was in a huge amount of pain, which I think is what made me feel sick. I was exhausted but I sprinted the last kilometre as fast as I could because to be quite honest with you, I just wanted it over with, I’d well and truly had enough. I don’t think I realised at the time how much I was hurting but the photos from the final kilometre do tell the tale, I’m not at my most photogenic!! 😆

So it is done…………….4 hours 24 minutes and 36 seconds……………..not that that matters to me at all, but it seems to matter to everyone else! 🤭

I can see what people mean now when they say that courage is not running a marathon, it’s getting to the start line. For me the four day lead up to the race was 100 times harder than the race itself.

So I might have lost 5 toe nails in total and 5 months of my life. But I got my medal and more importantly UNICEF got almost £800 which was my priority.

Oh and even better (better even than the medal)………………….I got cake! I have the best work team ever! A cake waiting on my desk on Monday morning! 😍 But even the opportunity to wear my slippers for work and eat cake won’t persuade me to do another! My marathon days are complete!

I also learnt a lot about me too as it’s been a bit of a journey. I learnt a lot about resilience, about positive thinking, about the power of the mind over adversity. I don’t think I realised how strong I was mentally or physically. It was also never far from my mind how extremely lucky I was to be there, running. All through the marathon, and particularly when the going got tough, I thought of my two lovely friends, who sadly are no longer with us and able to run a marathon. So as always, in addition to being for UNICEF, this one was for Karen, as was my first ever 10k for Cancer Research all those years ago, I still miss her so much. And for Gill too………..who at the time was still fighting……..my pain was nothing by comparison and I realise that. And for my boys too ……… I hope that the crazy lunatic of a mother that they laugh at and torment daily has made them proud and taught them a little about resilience ……………I’ll shall be racing them to the pub when they are home………………last one there buys the drinks and it won’t be me! 😂

This is a very quick post! Because today I am allowed to blow my own trumpet! Because for me, last night was a very special night………..I went out out! It does not happen too often ……. usually I start yawning at around 6 o’clock and dreaming of my robe, slippers and book but last night I made an effort…………dress, makeup and even sparkly shoes!!

Where did I go?!?! Well………last night it was the annual running club presentation evening. I’ve only been to it once before as I’ve only been in the club for 18 months.

I am the girl who absolutely hated running at school. I used to hide in the ditch and sneak a quick walk in cross country and got stitch in my tummy just thinking about setting off. I loathed it. I was near the back of any running competition. I’m not that competitive, there was no prize, so I just didn’t see the point in overexerting myself. 😂

The above just sums up running for me! I might have told you before that I’m one of those that found running later in life, in my forties, to deal with grief after the loss of a friend. These days running does for me what books do for me too. Books and running allow you to escape, go some place else, to find peace, and be free.

I now have another friend receiving end of life care, a child I’m worried about (does that ever end!), and the world just seems like it’s getting closer to imploding with every passing day. So I need my running at the moment, more than running needs me. While out on my little runs I listen to the birds, take in my surroundings, get muddy, think of all the things I have to be thankful for, and eat cake afterwards! It’s my happy place.

So that’s basically it. I never try or intend to win my category in a race, if I do it’s just lucky. I just turn up to all my races, never take myself seriously and laugh my way around. However, I am a little competitive and will race anyone into the clubhouse afterwards to the cake.

So it’s now official………..last night I was crowned the fastest 50 year old female in the village (well I’m 53 actually)!!!! But not in one of the three Club Championship categories………………..I’ve won all THREE!!!! Clean sweep. I’m sat here looking at my little glass trophy which says I am the Club Championship Veteran 50 ‘Road Champion’, ‘Cross Country Champion’ and ‘Fell Champion’. For those of you who are not from around these parts, the latter title does not mean I fall down a lot (although I do do that too). A ‘fell’ is a word we use in Northern England and Scotland which is taken from the Norse word for mountain. And it is just that, a mountain or large moor covered hill, of which we have lots around here, and we run and race on them all year.

But not only that, I’m even more proud of me because I was awarded the Club Championship shield for the ‘Overall Female Fell Champion’. I am absolutely astounded, I can’t quite believe what I’ve pulled off! 😂 Neither can my two boys who are taking a bit of convincing that there was actually anyone else in the competition!

It’s just about turning up, having the courage to start, putting one foot in front of the other and keeping going, just don’t stop! That’s the one thing I don’t know how to do………….I never give up! Some people think it’s my strength and is endurance. I see it as a bit of a weakness and more stubbornness and reckless determination. I can think of a few times where it would have been more sensible to give up, but I don’t know how.

So this morning I have two trophies and a headache! So rough I’ve had to bake a cake to satisfy my sugar craving, and all I have done other than bake a cake, is sit and look at my trophies and read as I don’t feel like moving!😆

The message here is that providing you stick at it you can do most things if you put your mind to it. If the menopausal woman, with a hernia who eats cake can do this, then most people can. And the second bit of advice is don’t mix dry white wine, lager and stout on the same night out…….they make you feel really rough the next day. 😢

Loved it! Out of the four cities visited: Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca and Toledo…………..Salamanca was the winner. It’s the glamorous supermodel of the four. It is so stunningly beautiful.

It’s nice and compact, feels quite affluent, buzzing with life (as it has a large student population), very clean, not too busy and has one gorgeous building after another. Every way you turn it is breath-taking, by day and by night. It also feels incredibly safe as a solo female traveller, the people are really friendly.

Because there is quite a lot to see in Salamanca I stayed for two nights and had two full days to look around and that was about the right amount of time to see the main sights.

I stayed in the Salamanca Suite Studios in the Plaza Libertad, a very pretty, little green square, literally just around the corner from the main Plaza Major in Salamanca. The accommodation was perfect: fantastic location, reasonably priced, quiet at night, comfy bed, the best shower ever, a little kitchenette and a very friendly and helpful reception. It was perfect for me.

You can get to Salamanca from Madrid by train or by bus. Either is good. I went on the train and came back on the bus as the train was full. Bus is slightly easier as the bus station in Madrid is easier to get to than Chamartín train station, but it’s a bit more expensive and a little slower than the train, so it just depends on your preference really. Both the train and bus stations in Salamanca are an easy walk into town. Salamanca is a little further away from Madrid than Toledo and Segovia, it’s around 1 hour 40 minutes on the train and 2 hours on the bus. I had a lovely couple of hours reading my book on the way there and on the way back I was placed next to a lovely young man who was on his way from Salamanca to Madrid to meet his friends to watch Athletico Madrid. It was really useful as he was a bit of a chatterbox and did not speak a word of English, so he had the full inquisition in my very best Spanish, a bit like the inquisition my boys get after a long absence. I found out where he was from, details on brothers and sisters, what he studied, where he worked, his parents have a holiday home on the coast of Asturias in a little town I am going to, and in the end he was giving me a guided tour of Asturias from his phone picture gallery and proudly showing me pictures of his shiny bike and him in the Picos de Europa, and recommending where I should go on my next trip. I was very pleased with myself at having extracted all that information in Spanish! He only burst into laughter a couple of times and pointed out my errors politely! I dread to think what I may have said!😂

I had a lovely little walk from the station on my arrival, past some interesting street art in the new town, and quickly found myself at my hotel. I checked in and went in search of food, I was so hungry and it was getting late.

Sometimes I just need a burger! Not very Spanish, I know, but when I’m really hungry sometimes I crave one. If you are in need of a burger while in Salamanca this is the place to go! The restaurant is called Brooks and it is on one corner of the Plaza Libertad. It serves burgers and beer, and the burgers are to die for. I had the Campera Burger – in addition to the perfectly cooked homemade burger, it had molten provolone cheese, chimichurri mayo, rocket, red onion, creole chorizo, grilled vine tomato, all served in a toasted brioche bun with hand cut skin on fries. Oh my, it was gorgeous. In the menu they also recommend which of their beers go best with your burger. I went for the recommended Leffe Tripel, a strong and full bodied Belgian beer which I like to drink at home in the UK, and it was the perfect pairing. Just what I needed.

An early night beckoned, ready to get up early and explore the next day.

The old town of Salamanca is simply stunning and has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1988.

The first stop the following morning was the main square in Salamanca. Is is easily the most beautiful Plaza Mayor I have ever seen, and possibly the most beautiful in Spain in my opinion. It is so opulent. It is Spanish baroque in style. It is arched all around the perimeter and underneath the arches sit cafes, jewellery stores, ice cream parlours and restaurants. The buildings in the square, and in fact, in most of the old town, are constructed from sandstone and give the whole town a golden glow in the sunlight. It is the perfect place to watch the world go by and is very much a gathering place for the people who live there.

It was the perfect place for breakfast. If you want a reasonably priced café con leche and pastry for breakfast I can recommend café Las Torres. A huge custard ‘Raqueta’, freshly squeezed orange juice and delicious coffee, all for 5 euros.

By day the square is stunning, but you must go and see it by night. The whole square is lit up and it is the most beautiful sight, just like you have walked into a fairy tale.

Wherever you turn in Salamanca there will be a beautiful building. The wide sweeping streets are lined with them, but one of the most stunning façades has to be that of the new cathedral. It is so ornate and elaborate. If you look closely at the carved stonework around the door you’ll see some new additions following a 1992 restoration. There’s an astronaut, an ice cream eating dragon, a monkey and various other curiosities.

There is a new cathedral and an old cathedral. They are both together and the ticket to look around gets you into both. The new cathedral is not that new and dates back to between 1533 and 1733. It is gothic and baroque in style and is quite beautiful. The ceilings are so high and the placement of the windows in the ceiling are such, that the light illuminates the high vaulted ceiling and baroque painted cupola perfectly. The old cathedral is a bit of a disappointment compared to the new, but you might as well have a quick look while you are there.

In front of the Cathedral is a pretty little square which separates the Cathedral from the University, the Plaza de Anaya. There are normally a number of students hanging around and it’s the perfect place to put your feet up for a minute with a cool beer after trudging around the town.

I came out of the cathedral and suddenly realised that I gone a full 48 hours without an ice cream! Yes, I know it was February but the sun was shining and in my opinion you can eat ice cream 365 days a year, it’s not just for summer! If you want an ice-cream make your way back to the Plaza Mayor and under one of the arches you will find Heladeria Bico de Xeado. This could be my favourite shop in Spain!😂 It was such a difficult decision. Do I want Turron? Do I want Chocolate Orange? Or do I want one of the many other tempting flavours they have on offer? I just could not decide so I had both: Turron and Chocolate Orange………and while we are at it lets go large in a chocolate coated cone! I just can’t help myself.

After stuffing myself full of ice cream I thought I had better walk it off a bit so spent a good couple of hours just wandering and admiring the beautiful facades of all the golden sandstone buildings. A very interesting one is the ‘Casa de las Conchas’ or ‘House of Shells’. This is a very unusual and pretty building completely covered in sandstone shells, symbol of the Order of Santiago. It currently houses the public library. Apparently there is hidden treasure behind one of the shells, but I did not find it!

Opposite the ‘House of the Shells’ is ‘La Clerecia’, a very beautiful building now part of the Pontifical University of Salamanca. If you wander down the street at the side of the ‘House of the Shells’ you walk past the ‘Colegio de Espana para Extranjeros’, where I might have been better spending the day 😂, and eventually come to another pretty little square surrounded by the Monterrey Palace, a lovely building with a lot of history.

Wandering the streets, there are some beautiful shops for those of you that like to shop for gifts or just to treat yourself. I am drawn to the turron and chocolate shops and bought some little sweet treats for my two sons. I also had a little chuckle at the diversity of the Spanish general store. In Business Studies and Economics this is a true model of diversification and covering all bases of the consumer market. It is the one stop shop for your snacks, your coffee, drinks and water, perhaps a gift or something exciting to spice up that night in at home! 😆 Yes, I did go in and have a look because having a degree in business and marketing I was most intrigued as to how they had applied the 7 P’s of the marketing mix to the wide selection on offer.😂

Opposite the new Cathedral is the University. If you walk around the University onto the Calle Libreros you come to the Puerta de Salamanca door. Somewhere amongst all the ornate carved stonework is the Salamanca Frog. Legend has it that if you can spot the tiny frog carved into the intricate stone façade you are sure to have great academic success and pass your exams without a problem. Could I find it? No! I spent ages looking for it. Not wanting my academic future to be jinxed I undertook a transaction with the elderly beggar at the door. I gave him the money for his next coffee in exchange for him revealing the location of the frog! Does that count if I paid someone to show it me?!? I’m not sure. I reckon he makes a fortune as there is no way you’d spot it if you did not know where it was.  

I needed another little sit down and a snack so I wandered back to the main square to the bakery because I wanted to try something I had seen in the window that looked like a pie……………..and I love a pie! Well, it’s sort of a bit like a UK pasty but it’s called an Hornazo. It’s not bread and it’s not pastry, it’s sort of an in-between, stuffed with pork loin, spicy chorizo, and hard-boiled eggs. It has quite an interesting history. Apparently at Lent the prostitutes of the city were banished to the other side of the river. Hornazo’s were eaten on Easter Monday by students on the banks of the river to celebrate their return. I very much enjoyed mine sat in the sunshine in the square.

The early evening was spent reading my book and having a little siesta which turned into quite a long siesta as I dropped into a deep sleep which I must have needed. The bed was oh so comfy. I was awoken by such a commotion outside. Dusk was starting to fall and little did I know that the trees in the square outside my window were home to thousands of roosting starlings who had just completed their evening murmuration and landed outside, quite a noise.

But quite well timed, as they were my alarm clock to have a quick shower, get my playing out clothes on and go for a few drinks in the bar across the square on the corner of Plaza de Libertad. It had a nice vibe, some cracking tunes (as we would say in Yorkshire), and friendly staff who mixed an amazing G&T. And they had so many gins to choose from, all lined up on a shelf, including my favourite summer time gin…….Gin Mare. I love Gin Mare………you can taste the summer, wild herbs and the sea! Ok, it’s February and I’m in Salamanca but close your eyes while sipping a Gin Mare and tonic and you could be anywhere. I only had a couple of G&T’s as I always forget when in Spain that when you ask for a gin and tonic you do actually get what seems like half a bottle of gin. So two large gin and tonics saw me all nice, warm and fuzzy, but still able to wobble across the square to my room.

The following day the sun was shining brightly and it was the perfect day to be outside. Salamanca looks lovely in the sunshine. The lady in the hotel reception told me it looked really nice from the other side of the river. She pointed me in the direction of the city walls and and the Puerto Romano, old roman bridge. It’s a lovely slow stroll over to the other side of the roman bridge and she was right, it is a lovely point from which to look back and survey the cityscape.

On the way back I revisited a lovely little garden which I’d been to the day before. It sits atop the city wall and is so peaceful. It’s called the Huerto De Calixto & Melibea. It’s a tiny little garden tucked away through an archway. There are lovely views over the city walls down to the river. The planting in there is beautiful and all the spring flowers were starting to poke through the ground. There is a little tinkling fountain and lovely shady seating. The perfect place to have a little reflect, read a book, or just to relax. It gets it’s name as it is supposed to be based on the secret meeting place of Calixto & Melibea, the main characters in the well known Spanish masterpiece ‘La Celestina’, a tale of a passionate love affair that ends in tragedy.

On the way to the garden you can call to look at the Cueva de Salamanca. Here are the remains of a former crypt where, according to legend, the devil would teach black magic classes. You can only get so far in at the moment though as access is blocked due to the unsafe structure. Worth a little look though to read the information plaques.

After a morning soaking up the outdoors and atmosphere of the city on this lovely sunny day, it was only a couple of hours to my return bus to Madrid. One last place to visit for lunch…………..the market! We all know how I love a good market feed. It means I can try numerous different things. The market is situated just off the main square, down some steps to a lower level. It has some lovely Art Deco stained glass feature windows and architecturally if you like Art Deco you will love the market building itself. Inside it has all the stalls you would expect……….meat, fish, cheese, sausages. I bought some bits and bobs for my lunch which were so delicious I forgot to take a photo!

So that’s your little mini tour of Salamanca. Definitely overlooked on the tourism radar compared to the bigger Spanish cities, but twice as nice. But I guess that’s what I liked about it. It wasn’t full of tourists! It had a happy, chilled, laid back vibe about it. I felt relaxed and comfortable there and could have stayed longer, doing nothing much other than watch the world go by and reading my book. It’s a must do place if you are in this part of Spain.

I still have Toledo to tell you about……….and now Paris and a Marathon too……………….so watch this space! Marathon recovery is well underway and this week has involved, in addition to work, a little bit of orienteering………..more on that later…………..a glorious Yorkshire sunset on my evening wanderings and all sorts of little adventures.

But today I have spent the day with one of my very favourite friends……………..Spencer! It wasn’t Spencer I went to see it was his Mum who is a very dear friend of mine who is not so well at the moment. But it gave me the opportunity to have lots of doggy cuddles. In short, if you know me well you will know I have always wanted a dog but never been allowed to have one. I’d spend 24 hours in the company of a dog rather than a human on any day of the week! 😂 Anyway, I love Spencer and Spencer loves me as I am an endless source of tummy rubs and ear tickles. It took three attempts at a selfie today as he felt the need to lick my ear mid pose and I’m ticklish, but here we are, third time lucky! 😍

Well, what a lovely two days. My mini-me and I in London.

Salamanca and Toledo updates are on the way, but this last weekend I have been in the city of London spending some quality time with the baby of the family. It was a little treat for my birthday earlier in the month and his impending 21st birthday in a couple of weeks, when he officially becomes an adult and I have suggested he might want to start behaving like a grown up too!😂 That went down well!

It’s also the week when I officially became the most embarrassing parent on the planet without trying. But more on that in a minute.

The location of London was decided because the secondary purpose of the visit was to go to a concert, which my mini-me had volunteered to come to with me………….he loves his music, and he loves London. My oldest one was invited too, but he is on the final push to becoming a Master of Astrophysics, and being very studious, he was doing something which he tells me I won’t understand. Because despite having a degree, and sharing my intelligence genes with him, he thinks I am rather stupid.

Embarrassing moment number one occurred before I even got to London, and is a perfect example of how my brain is sometimes like cotton wool, especially so early on a Sunday morning. I’d only got as far as the train station in Doncaster. I was travelling on my own and meeting my youngest in London as he was travelling from University, which is the other side of the country to me. I just had time to go to the toilet before my train. I paid my 20 pence to get in the toilet, when to my horror, I got stuck in there. The turnstile would not open to let me out. Ten minutes to my train departure, and with no-one in sight, there was no option (wearing a little black mini skirt and tights might I add), than to push my cabin case under the turnstile while I attempted to hitch my skirt up to climb over it. By this time two young men had rounded the corner and I was met with a round of applause for my stealth like manoeuvre over the top of a turnstile in a mini skirt. Following closely behind them I spotted the janitor, so being the kind person I am, I thought I’d point out the issue, to prevent the same happening to any other unsuspecting female traveller. She smiled widely whilst explaining about the button that you should press, that releases the turnstile. But apparently, in my defence, I’m not the first and it happens quite regularly!

So, I made it to London, the city that I like to visit, but love to leave even more! No offence to anyone from London, it’s an amazing place and I love it for a short period. If you grow up there it will be the norm, but for me it is sensory overload, it exhausts me, and as much as I adore it, I feel myself relax as the train pulls out of Kings Cross on its way back to Yorkshire.

When you’ve been so many times you run out of places to visit, and my little companion was only with me for the Sunday as he had Uni on Monday so was leaving on an early train on Monday morning. I decided to take him to Camden Town as I thought it would be his sort of place. It’s a bit like Marmite, you love it or hate it. I knew he’d love it, liking his art, music, food and clothes. I’ll share the highlights of what we got up to and you can make your own mind up as to whether it’s your sort of place.

First challenge for me was the Underground. I hate it and have a fear of it. I have an issue being in a confined space, especially with lots of people, I start to feel really trapped. It’s an irrational fear I know, but with a rational source as it comes from being inside Hillsborough stadium on the 15th April 1989, at aged 18, when the infamous disaster occurred. I guess it’s something that will stay with me for ever but I’ve managed, with help, to overcome and face that fear. Whilst I don’t think I will ever be comfortable in those situations I can now face them and they don’t interfere with my life like they did when I could not even entertain the idea of being in an elevator or any confined space.

With the Underground in London there is that awful smell too, like a mechanical oily smell. It’s cold, damp, dirty, dimly lit and with all those old tiles looks like the inside of a badly maintained public toilet. I know for some people that’s the beauty and charisma of it but for me there’s nothing nice about it, but I made it from Kings Cross to Camden Town on the Underground after meeting my little bundle of joy!

So, why come to Camden? It’s a centre of counter culture and 100% sensory overload…………………..sights, sounds, smells, colour, street art, music, food. It’s a thriving, alternative area and very popular with the younger crowd. It’s an area where everyone fits in. You can’t really stand out in Camden because literally anything goes!

First stop was a little tour around to see some fantastic street art. It’s all over Camden and it is so colourful and well done. Being very creative he loved this.

Then we wandered down the very lively Camden High Street. There is music coming from all directions, all different genres. The smell of food from every corner of the world wafts along the pavement. Everywhere you look, the shop fronts are emblazoned in every colour of the rainbow.

It was time for food, and in Camden you are spoilt for choice as it is like one huge food market. There’s Buck Street Market, Hawley Wharf Market, Camden Lock Market and the Main Camden Street Food Market. We wandered around them all, deciding what to have. Buck Street is really interesting in its layout as it’s constructed out of colourful painted shipping containers all stacked on top of each other, with a central courtyard. Hawley Wharf is a little more upmarket and newer, down near the wharf.

As it was a sunny blue-sky day, we opted to go to Camden Lock Market and partake in the offerings from ‘Burger & Beyond’ whilst watching the canal boats bob around in the canal basin in the sunshine. According to ‘Time Out’ magazine, these are London’s best burgers and I’m not going to argue with that……………..YUM!

Then we walked around the vintage shops, because all students love a vintage clothes market! We weaved our way through all the high sided alleyways of old industrial canal side buildings and under the railway arches, which were covered by a ceiling of brightly coloured umbrellas……….very atmospheric.

Camden has been home to many famous people………..John Keats, Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw and J. B. Priestley, and still continues to be the home for many celebrities. We came across the statue to the Queen of Camden, Amy Winehouse. She was from nearby Enfield but moved to Camden in 2003 when she released her debut album. She felt at home there and remained there until her tragic death in 2011.

Camden is bordered by the very affluent area of Primrose Hill and its adjacent park, Regents Park. After the sensory overload of Camden we wandered over to Primrose Hill, passing through Chalcot Crescent, where the bright yellow house at number 32, is where Paddington Bear lived with the Brown family in Paddington 2.

More recently, residents of Primrose Hill area have included Noel Gallagher, Harry Styles, Chris Martin of Coldplay, model Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow. It’s quite a cool celebrity hangout. It is more like a village, and the high street is full of little independent shops: fruit & vegetable shops, book shops, cafes. It has a community feel which is quite rare in London. We took the opportunity to have a cake and coffee break before climbing up Primrose Hill.

Primrose Hill is just that, a hill in a lovely park. Climb to the top of it and you will be rewarded with a fantastic view of the city. You’ll be able to pick out the Shard, Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, St Pauls Cathedral and many more iconic London buildings.

Wander down the hill and cross the road and you are in Regents Park. This is one of the Royal Parks of London. It’s a huge expanse of green space in the middle of London, and after the overstimulation of Camden it’s a good place to wind down on a lovely sunny day. Highlights of the park for me on this bright and sunny day were the reflection of the clouds on the boating lake, the Spring cherry blossom, the very beautiful planting of Spring plants in the flower borders and my close encounter with a very friendly heron………yes it’s a real one and had no intention of flying off!

Time now for another little trip on the Underground to our accommodation in Hammersmith. We were staying in Hammersmith, at the Luma – Heeton Concept Hotel, because we had tickets for a concert at Hammersmith Apollo that night which was due to finish late so I wanted to stay close by. It’s a nice good value hotel and its concept is based on the old Osram lightbulb factory which dominated this area of London back in days gone by. There are little light bulb facts and inspirational quotes all around the hotel.

Time for a quick freshen up and change of clothes for the short 5 minute walk to Hammersmith Apollo, where we were going to see the Black Pumas. They are an American Grammy nominated soul band and this was one of only two gigs they were playing on the UK leg of their tour. Just one man with an outstanding vocal and song writing ability, another, who is an amazingly gifted guitarist/producer, and a backing band.

Hammersmith Apollo is an iconic building in its own right. It was originally built as a cinema and is a Grade II listed Art Deco building, opened in 1932. The sound is fantastic, and perfect for a concert like this. It’s hosted many famous names, many of whom have released live recordings of their concerts there, the acoustics are so good. I’d bought the tickets on Spotify presale and they were excellently positioned. It was great to see the concert was completely sold out too, so the atmosphere was electric. The only downside, like in most venues where they have a captive audience, were the drink prices. And how is it that when you make your children pay their way they stick to beer and when they know you are paying they switch to double vodka and cokes!😂His drinks cost me nearly as much as his concert ticket!

The concert was superb, and certainly ranks in my top few concerts ever………..and I’ve been to a lot! No fancy set, costumes or lights required. Just his voice and the sheer quality of the musicians in the band were all it took. His vocal register and the way he just hits each note bang in the middle is just astounding! They played all my favourites from the first and latest albums. The highlights for me were ‘Colours’, which had everyone on their feet singing together, his absolutely perfect rendition of ‘Angel’ which was sung with such emotion, and which one concert goer captured for you to enjoy on social media (link below). The lovely surprise of the evening was when we were all getting our coats on to leave, the band had left the stage, and the lead singer waltzed through the side door into the audience circle with just his guitar to stand amongst us, thank us for attending, and gave us all a tear jerking rendition of his cover of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’, while we all just stood around him, mouths open in amazement. All in all, it was an amazing concert, one of those you’ll remember for years to come.

I was rudely awaked the next morning by the offspring at 5:30am setting off for his train to Bristol, but after seeing him off I managed to catch another few hours sleep. My train home wasn’t until 7pm in the evening so I had one whole day to spend on my own in London……….what a hardship!😂

So what does a girl do when abandoned in London for the day……………..go shopping of course! I no longer have anyone clinging to my coat tails saying “Is this the last shop?”, “Can we go home now?”.

It was mainly window shopping because I’d spent all my money on Vodka hadn’t I! But it was lovely to wander around of my own accord. I spent most of the day around Carnaby Street, a lovely little shopping area which contains my favourite department store for window shopping………………Liberty! If you have never been, you have to go on your next trip to London.

The building itself was designed by Edwin Hall in the 1920’s, a period of Tudor revival. It is constructed from the timbers of two ancient ‘three-decker’ battle ships with more than 24,000 cubic feet of timber from The HMS Impregnable and the HMS Hindustan. It’s now a listed building and is stuffed full of the most gorgeous clothes, homewares, fabrics and other things that the majority of us would have to re-mortgage our homes to afford.

However, I did get myself a little treat. But it was such an ordeal and battle with myself. I’m not good a treating myself but I’m getting better. You spend so many years working hard and sacrificing things for the sake of everyone else that you get out of the habit of focusing on you. When your family are growing up your sole focus is making sure they have everything they need, sometimes making do yourself, or going without to put everyone else first.

Well, the internal battle began in the perfume department. I have an empty bottle of Hermes perfume at home. It’s been empty for 6 months and I’ve not got around to buying the replacement. I’m not a huge collector of perfume, I normally only have two bottles, a heavier going out perfume and a lighter daytime summer fragrance. It was my bottle of Hermes ‘Un Jardin en Méditerranée’ that was empty, my summer time perfume.

But I fancied a change, and spotted the perfumes of Santa Maria Novella in Liberty. The Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella was first established in Florence in 1221. In that year, Dominican friars founded the convent of Santa Maria Novella, and began to cultivate a garden whose products they used to create balms and elixirs. I first came across their perfumes on a visit to Italy. In the UK they have one store in London, and also re-sell through Liberty and Harrods and that is your only option.

I had a little spray in Liberty and fell in love with one of their scents called Rosa Novella. It is described as, ‘Evoking a lush garden in bloom as Spring awakens. This warm, seductive fragrance opens with sparkling notes of citrus, mingling with delicate white flowers and the sweetness of rose before the freshness reveals a harmony of green herbal tones that drift off into a smooth bed of moss and woods.’ Apparently, it’s based on the smell that greets you when you enter the garden of Santa Maria Novella in Florence in May. So very me, floating about in a dreamworld of woods and rose petals!🤭

But then I had the ‘should I, shouldn’t I’ debate. I sprayed a bit more and went for a wander, arguing with myself. The scent kept wafting up and eventually got the better of me, so I did the extravagant thing and spent my birthday money and bought myself a gift! I felt so guilty, but the lovely attendant on perfumes actually made me feel better. He said, “Do you want it gift wrapping, it’s free of charge?” To which I replied “Oh, no it’s ok, it’s only for me!”  He then looked me straight in the eye and said, “Well that’s exactly the reason why it should be gift wrapped then!” and proceeded to get his purple ribbon and fancy paper out. He did make me think for a minute how sometimes we do put everyone else first and don’t appreciate ourselves. So, if you buy yourself a little gift my message would be don’t feel guilty about it and if they ask you if you want it gift wrapping say “Yes please, with the fanciest ribbon and paper you have!”

Just time for spot of late lunch and then a steady saunter through some of my favourite parts of London on my way to Kings Cross station. Past the quintessential British pub on the corner and through the very vibrant China Town.

Then through Covent Garden, which looks beautiful at any time of year, with a little pause to watch the street performers and read some poignant quotes which I liked a lot and I’ll share one below.

Then it was time to breath my sigh of relief and relaxation as I headed out of Kings Cross on my way back to God’s own County. Which I might add, is looking splendid, as Spring has finally sprung in my little happy place (my garden)!

I’ve just realised, I’ve not told you about my second embarrassing moment of the week. It is really quite bad, but has had everyone, except my boys of course, rolling with laughter. It involves my love/hate relationship with Strava and the use of my data, which I hasten to add I have now hidden from all leader boards! I have been completely unaware that my lovely little running route takes me through a small car park which unbeknown to me is used for something of a sexual nature which is not exactly legal. You’ll have to use your imagination as I’m not explaining it on here! But basically it has been named as such on a segment on Strava, and guess who almost became the ‘Local Strava Legend’ of such spot after repeatedly obtaining a PB on the one mile sprint to that segment……….yes me! So, the running route has been amended as I simply don’t know where it is safe to look anymore as I run through the car park and I’ve altered my data privacy to ensure no more unfortunately named awards and PB’s are pinned to my name, causing unnecessary distress and embarrassment for my children!!😂🤭

Today I have been keeping myself out of mischief by preparing for their impending arrival for the Easter weekend………….because you are never too old for one of Mum’s chocolate Rice Krispie buns with Easter mini eggs or Lemon Drizzle loaf. I figured if I stayed in and baked I could not get myself into anymore embarrassing situations. Two’s enough for one week!