Days 1-3 (13-15th June 2008)
Madrid
13 months ago AC Milan became European Champions and I had just visited a rain-soaked Madrid, completely devoid of tourists. This weekend in Madrid was sunny, warm and full of young travellers taking in the sights.
It would have been great for photos, but apart from a brief tour of Parque del Buen Retiro and a couple of other of the capital's attractions, I've managed to spend most of the weekend in restaurants and bars, stuffing my face with tapas and cañas. Vida dificil!
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Day 1 (3 April 2008)
Köln
This school reunion doesn't start off too well. Andy (who I've seen once in eight years) arrives at Gatwick and finds his ticket is for the Friday flight, not today's (Thursday). A £75 upgrade, some wine and beer and a ridiculously short flight to Germany later, we're wandering around Köln trying to find the tourist attractions.
Where. The. Hell. Are. They.
It could be the awful weather, but this city (bar the excellent Dom, which holds the largest free-swinging bell in the world) isn't particularly inviting for the snappy happy tourist.
Of course, this...
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14th April 2008 - BucureÅŸti, BraÅŸov
My first experiences of this Eastern European country are mixed. I can't miss the huge rich/poor divide; I've witnessed scenes that resemble what I have seen in Africa; I've also seen some beautiful landscapes and met some very friendly locals.
Firstly, everything seems to happen in slow motion. It takes two hours for me to collect my hire car, since there was no record of my payment and that led to a random trip across Bucharest with some non-English speaking bloke. My first petrol payment then took about 15 minutes. The credit card machine appeared...
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6th March 2008 - Day 1 - Zermatt
I've landed in Switzerland and unfortunately I'm three months too early to see Italy in the European Championships. So instead, I jump on train from Genève to Täsch.
The journey itself is easy and picturesque, in particular as the train works its way around Lake Genève. I can imagine that in summer, still with the snow-covered Alps in the distance, but with a greener landscape, it must be beautiful.
Täsch is the stopping point for vehicles before the ski resort of Zermatt. It's not very exciting and the nightlife is hardly famous. In fact, the most...
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After about a fortnight of wind and rain (enough to even wear a coat to work a couple of times) it's a pleasant surprise when the sun makes a prolonged appearance for the bank holiday weekend. It's a good job too, since I've hired a car and travelled 225km to Somerset.
Cheddar Gorge makes for a fantastic walk. The views are good, although I was expecting the gorge to be a little bigger; maybe I was hoping for a mini-Grand Canyon...
Beneath the rock is more impressive. The caves are full of history and make for some great photos (although I'd advise people to get there first thing in the morning;...
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I'm sitting in Edinburgh airport and Natalie Imbruglia has just sprinted towards gate number 10. The doors are closed and she looks a little beaten.
This moment has inspired me to share a travel idea.
So I'm in Edinburgh today. A colleague of mine is in Edinburgh on Monday. Surely it would be possible to hide something today, so that they can discover it (with the aid of some Dan Brown style clues, of course)? We've started with something simple. It's hidden in a graveyard just off Princes Street and all they need to do is find the right grave.
I'm sure this has probably been done, but I wonder...
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25-26th June 2007 - Palermo
I stepped off the plane in Palermo yesterday evening and the heat hit me like the blast of air you get when opening an oven. Temperatures have reached 47 degrees Celsius and the signs are everywhere. Sirens can be heard regularly and in the distance are rows of fires billowing smoke up into the air.
It doesn't feel any cooler in the hotel either, since the air conditioning isn't working, so it's a tough start to the day. Nonetheless, it's an excuse to get out early and see what this city has to offer.
I've twice missed the catacombs in Paris, so Palermo's tombs...
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