Day 4: WEDNESDAY Welcome back Reader! Today’s destination? the island of Lokrum – just a No 6. Bus and a 15-minute Boat ride away!! As has become our regular routine, it was the short walk/get on the No.6/get off at the City Walls… and then find the Boat that’s going to Lokrum! One of the …
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Category:Holiday
Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 3 – M&M&M&M!
Day 3: TUESDAY Morning loyal follower! Today’s Blog is sponsored by the letter ‘M’! It’s a day of Mooching, Museum, Mates and a Meal, here in a slightly overcast Dubrovnik. We’re mooching around the City, seeking-out the best of the local Museums to understand more of the history and culture here. The Museums vary a …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 2 – The Cable-Car and a Hidden Gem
Our Croatian story so far… Arrival(Saturday) The Old City Walls(Sunday) MONDAY Morning Reader! We slept well. The temporary problem of the AC Unit leaking on the carpet is solved! It was another superb breakfast in the Hotel’s Restaurant that’s ‘punching well above its weight’ for variety and service. On our travels today, it’s back to …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 1 – The City Walls
We slept well, but if we were going to get ahead of the hoards for a visit to the Old City Walls there would be no lying-in this morning! But, there’s always time for Breakfast, so on (a Sunday-unfriendly) 7.40am, we made our way to the Restaurant for the first time, to see what the …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 0 – Arrival
Crikey! Even by my standards, leaving at 3am is early! We’re heading for Birmingham Airport and Dubrovnik for a week of sunshine and culture. The last time Ann was in Dubrovnik was when she was 12 and we both saw a bit of Croatia back in 2006 as part of a Cruise for my 50th. …
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Our Cruise Awards 2018
Queen Mary 2 Interior Photoshttps://photos.app.goo.gl/Q9GQJIaxepBf6Q1N2 Cruise Photoshttps://photos.app.goo.gl/ERuCjh9sqQhZNoxE3 QE2 Tourhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/RhB7Y6ptZXw8rKNl2 Our ‘Awards’ based on experiences over the past few weeks. Some are best read with your tongue firmly in your cheek! Favourite Port AwardWinner: Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of OmanRunner-up: Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka Best Tour Guide AwardAbdullah (Oman)Sri (Sri Lanka) Best on-Board Technology …
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Cruise Day 12 (17th April): Muscat (Oman)
Morning Reader, this is probably the final Blog of the holiday as we fly home Thursday. Today, we’re on a full-day Tour today entitled: Nakhl & Hot Springs. We’re covering :- Muscat is the capital city of (the Sultanate of) Oman and the seat of Government. It’s just ‘round the corner’ from Dubai, but unknown …
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Cruise Day 10 & 11 (15th and 16th April): Heading for Muscat (Oman)
Dear Reader, it’s another two days at sea for us, this time heading for Muscat in Oman. The clocks went back half-an-hour last night, so, as the end of our holiday approaches, we’re getting closer to UK time. And it’s been another busy period as over the past two days, we’ve crammed in… Sunday …
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Cruise Day 9 (14th April): Cochin (India)
 A lazy start for our Tours so far – a relatively lethargic 9.30 today! Here we go then – our first visit to India in the shape of a six-hour combined Coach & Boat tour entitled: The Best of Cochin. Cochin is in the Indian state of Kerala, located on the west coast of …
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Cruise Day 8 (13th April): At Sea
Another day at sea today… Things to do/see… Looking ahead to tomorrow, We’re docking in India for one day, where we’ve then got a six-hour Tour: The Best of Kochin First, the good news: It’s a late start for our Tour – a relatively ‘lazy’ 9.30. Now the bad news: we’ve been reminded that none …
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Cruise Day 7 (12th April): Colombo (Sri Lanka)
We’ve not been to Sri Lanka before and so this was going to be a real treat. We’re going ashore at Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city, leading (and very modern-looking) Port and commercial capital – home to some 750 000 locals. A hosted half-day walking tour is probably a good introduction to this country, just …
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Cruise Day 5 and 6 (10th/11th April): At Sea
Tuesday, 10th A formal night tonight – “Black and White Ball”. The clocks went back an hour last night. As we’re at sea for the next couple of days, it’s time to wake up our brains and take advantage of some of the onboard activities! Well, three out of four isn’t bad, I suppose!*Under International …
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Cruise Day 4 (9th April): Phuket (Thailand)
There’s nothing like a Cruise Holiday – long lie-ins, late breakfasts and no need for an alarm clock!And that’s why today was nothing like a Cruise Holiday!We had to set the alarm for 5.30am, breakfast followed at 6.15 and we were on the Tender Service for 7am!In spite of the super-early start, it was means …
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Cruise Day 3 (8th April): Langkawi (Malaysia)
It’s our last full-day in Malaysia today and we’ve docked around the island of Langkawi (1 of 104 in this archipelago, north-west of Malaysia). We’re currently very close to the Thai border. We’ve not been to Langkawi before, so we weren’t sure what to expect. Our original cable-car trip (that took in Machincang Mountain and …
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Cruise Day 2 (7th April): Georgetown, Penang (Malaysia)
Our day began in the laziest of ways – breakfast in our room!The combination of a smaller shoebox Cabin compact Stateroom and the legendary in-room Cunard Breakfast meant that there was hardly room for the brekky AND us… but we managed! The Ship’s connection with the outside world continues to be a problem. Quite apart …
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Embarkation & Cruise Day 1: Arrival in Malaysia (Heading for Kuala Lumpur)
THURSDAY: Embarkation was mostly as smooth as it comes (apart form the queuing). After a S$10 Cab-ride to the Cruise Terminal, we were soon on-board (after only an hour of sitting around waiting to queue and then standing around enjoying the queuing). Did I mention queuing? It’s now just after 2pm, on Thursday and at …
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Day 4: Bye-Bye Singapore, Hello Queen Mary 2
After a few days on dry land in Singapore, we’re now swapping it for extreme amounts of the wet stuff – courtesy of Queen Mary 2. This is the flagship of the Cunard Cruise Line and is the biggest/largest/heaviest/tallest in their fleet. We’ve been lucky enough to do quite a few Cruises over the years, …
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Day 3: Singapore – The Singapore Flyer and Lunch at The Sands SkyPark
Yes, another hot sticky one today – and our last full day here before joining the Ship tomorrow! We’re off to take a ride in The Singapore Flyer and then Lunch at the Sands SkyPark that takes in some spectacular views of the Bay. This is an interesting and newish attraction (opened in 2008), standing …
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Day 2: Singapore – Gardens by the Bay/Afternoon Tea
Ahh, good news for the citizens of Singapore! The removal of the Kevlar from my side of the mattress made all the difference, and unlike yesterday, I slept well. No more ‘Mr Grumpy’! ..and it looks like another hot, sticky one is on the cards today! Today, the main events are: first – the Gardens …
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Day 1: Singapore – Singapore Zoo
One of us slept well, the other is Mr Grumpy (because they didn’t!) It was either the time-zone change, the Kevlar-coated mattress, or a mixture of both! Back to the itinerary! Today, it’s Singapore Zoo for us – luckily, as visitors!! We haven’t been here since our first visit to Singapore, 32 years ago! and …
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Day 0: Arrival in Singapore
We left home just after 10.30 on Easter Saturday, courtesy of Philip, our Driver (all part of the Emirates service!). It’s been a while since we (well, Philip) tackled the M6, and given that it was a bank holiday weekend, the traffic, although busy, moved along at speed without any hitches. We therefore arrived at …
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Turkish Delight: Day 3 – Istanbul (Mosque Mania)
The Blue Mosque and The Hagia Sophia are right here on our doorstep, but every day we’ve passed them, the queues have been far too long. As it’s our last full day here in Istanbul, the plan today is to have an early breakfast and try and get to them both ahead of the crowds. …
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Turkish Delight: Day 2 – Istanbul (Turkey on a Bus)
Turkey on a Bus? No, not a packed lunch! Today, we took the easy way for seeing Istanbul – by Bus! – courtesy of Big Bus Tours. The morning trip was the ‘Red Route‘ and in the afternoon, the ‘Blue Route‘. Total cost, just under £30 each and that included both routes (free wi-fi too). …
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Turkish Delight: Day 1 – Istanbul (Topkapi Palace and More)
With Istanbul’s ‘call to prayer‘ meaning there was no need for an alarm clock, we woke at around 7.15! Eeek! that’s 4.15am back at home! Oh joy!And to add to the challenges, the weather forecast doesn’t look that good either – but on a more positive note, at least it’s going to be dry. First …
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Turkish Delight: Day 0 – Istanbul (Arrival)
We dropped Biscuit off at Val’s yesterday, leaving us all set for a early(ish) departure from ours. We left just after 7.15 and looking at the volume of traffic on the A14 & M6, we were soon reminded of the ‘joys’ of the daily commute! Next stop was Birmingham Airport and a date with a …
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The Gang’s All Here (almost!)
Yep, another (very pleasant) excuse to get together with our good friends and neighbours – the return of Tom and Julie from their long break in Tenerife! It was almost the ‘full gang’ except for Rosi who couldn’t make it, as she was poorly with this dreaded ‘flu thing’ that’s doing the rounds. Paul and …
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Anniversary 2017 – Spain (Day 6) – Around Málaga by Bus (Last Day)
Today is our last full day here as we’re flying home tomorrow. If the weather forecast is reliable, we plan to make it ‘a local day’ and see as much as we can, on our doorstep, here in Málaga. We decided that the most effective way to do it was using the hop-on/hop-off open-top Bus …
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Anniversary 2017 – Spain (Day 5) – The Alhambra – Granada
Ouch! It’s not a great day weather-wise, but I’m sure we’ll make the most of it! Brollies are packed!! Oh, and gloves – after yesterday’s temperatures! Today, we’re off to Granada by local bus (90 minutes) to The Alhambra – it’s the most visited tourist attraction in Spain, so we just had to do it! …
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Anniversary 2017 – Spain (Day 4) Our Anniversary – Córdoba
Non-Scorchio! Today is our 6th Wedding Anniversary – and 33 years to the day since we first met! We always do something special on this day, and being in Spain was no exception. We said goodbye to Seville and headed for Córdoba by train. We’ll finish our day by heading to Málaga and our final …
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Anniversary 2017 – Spain (Day 3): The Train in Spain – Cádiz
Today’s adventure was visiting Cádiz by Train. We’re scheduled on the 9.47 from Seville that gets us to our destination by 11.26 – all for the measly sum of £24 each return (not bad for the distance travelled!). It’s our last day here today, before we head back to Málaga and our second hotel… for …
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