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Johanne BrookesJohanne Brookes
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Occasional traveller: cities, history, culture, food. So many places so little time Read more Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Day 3

    Help please

    June 2, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Lots of unidentified flowers and trees - help please! Mostly in the swampy eucalyptus forest wetlands, which were lovely, shady, with wild roses and vines scrambling up any available support. It was hot in the sun!Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Day 2

    Day 1Lisbon to Porto and beyond

    June 1, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We woke early as we needed to get to the station for the 9:30 train to Porto. Blue skies and breakfast on the roof terrace with views out across the rooftops to the river. Also an ambitious pigeon who tried to peck my orange.
    We navigated the easy Lisbon metro to St Apollonia Station and found our comfortable window seats. We had enough time for Mandy to hop off and grab a coffee before we departed. The journey was about three hours along rivers and through small towns until finally we started to see the sea and we knew we were nearing Porto.
    After some wandering about we found left luggage (we'd been distracted by the women selling cherries on the platform) and deposited our stuff so we could head into Porto. First stop lunch at a cafe by the station where we had a hotdog (sliced in two and put in white sliced with a slice of cheese!) and a local speciality called bifana; sliced pork in a bun with a spicy sauce. Then we spent a while trying to work out how to get to the city centre; the station was out in the suburbs. Eventually we worked out that there was a discretely hidden metro station so we hopped on that for three stops and hoped we were in roughly the right area. We emerged in front of one of those blue and white tiled portuguese churches in the heart of Porto. From there we ambled vaguely looking for the Church of San Francisco or the famous bookshop but we had no maps, minimal phone battery and there were no street signs /maps. So navigationally challenged and distracted by the copious quantities of cherries for sale everywhere we drifted until Mandy rose to the challenge and blagged a map from a big hotel.
    Armed with this we set off to find the world's most beautiful bookshop (apparently... According to some survey) we knew they charged 3e to enter redeemable against purchases but we weren't prepared for a grumpy bouncer, a huge queue and a entrance charge of 5e so we will never know if it really is so beautiful... We carried on wandering up and down the hills (Porto seems to be as hilly as Lisbon) and ended at the São Bento Station (apparently the world's most beautiful station... I might be spotting a theme here) but does have a magnificent tiled entrance hall.
    We then hunted around for the again rather discreet metro station - outside, round the corner, no signs in the station to direct you and not much signage above ground. Back on it and with a line change, back to our original station where we were to meet our taxi.

    The taxi ride was around 50minutes taking us north into the hills where we were deposited a a large house on a quiet side street in Ponte de Lima. Our host seemed friendly, very fond of hunting judging by the number of heads and tusks around the place.
    We wandered down towards the river to find dinner. It seemed to be prom season and the restaurant we were aiming for seemed to be a key location so we wandered on and ended up a restaurant with only one other party in it.... And then they left so it was us and the waiter.! We decided to go with traditional Portuguese food... It arrived: big chunks of pork, with black pudding, and other chunks of meat... Inc intestines... Not recommended.
    But the pork was good and the wine inexpensive and drinkable and we finished up with a port: one white and one red.    Read more

  • Portugal - Mandy and Jo
    Day 1

    Starting Out

    May 31, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    So a slightly edgy start as we hadn't got properly sorted. Adam the house sitter was due at 10am and we were still sorting stuff. We got away by about 11 am (via Mandy's to collect a waterproof and leave some Dreamies for Everest). Up to Manchester to park the car at Dad's and go for lunch.
    We went to Worsley Old Hall which was really busy for a weekday lunchtime but the food was good (and Northern, Inc. Bury black pudding nibbles to start and Bakewell Tart to finish). Dad ran us to terminal 1 where we had a short queue but a long wait for bag drop.... No separate desk so in with all the general check in. Then on to the joy of security which was very thorough... We got the line with body scanners.. And Mandy still got hauled out for a patdown. Baggage checking was really keen almost bags ended up in the hand check queue which took ages (not helped when people couldn't recognise their own bags) mine got stopped because of the hat in the tube and Mandy's had a mint induced check!
    Finally through to discover that the plane was running an hour late. We mooched, Mandy wrote cards, we mooched some more then we got a window seat and waited in the noise and chaos until the flight was finally called. We left around an hour late and the flight was fairly uneventful. We did watch with interest as a very glamorous Brazilian tried to get on the plane during business boarding and was stopped, then she tried during the first row call and was stopped... I don't think she was pleased (we saw her near the front later).
    At Lisbon we found the metro and rode out to the Baixa area to the Lis'bon Hostel. In the dark we could seen grand architecture and steep roads also quite a lot of rather drunk people. A quirky hostel with a fabulous tiny lift and a nice guy on reception who SD us a couple of bottles of beer and lent me a charger cable.... And so to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerCyprus 2018
    Day 8

    Last Day in Cyprus

    May 9, 2018 in Cyprus ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    No car today so a later start after packing. Everyone was doing their own thing this morning. Margaret and I walked down into Paphos Town and past the harbour to the archaeological Park to finish the bits we didn't see earlier in the week. It was scorching again on the walk, not far through; about 20 mins.

    We walked through park again and had a quick look at the Frankish castle and then on to the lighthouse. The lighthouse had a small display building by it, newly done and with excellent wall decorations taken presumably from pots. There were also a few pots in the shape of ships showing how the shape had changed in the period the site had been in use: 1700BCE very simple ships like canoes through to 350BCE with ships with railings and raised sterns. It was also very nice and cool!

    From there we walked under the blazing sun to the necropolis where we saw a huge lizard as well as a dromos entrance to a tomb. Again there were potsherds all over the place. From there we headed for the enormous agora. This covered a huge area and seemed larger than one in Athens.

    After that we headed out for an orange juice at the harbour bar where we cooled off for a mo. We struck out back to the hotel but somehow ended up in a gelateria! Fuel for the walk back.

    Back at the hotel we reconvened at the hotel and headed to the taverna for lunch. Shefdali again but this time with an excellent salad and chips rather than in a pitta.
    .    Read more

  • TravelerCyprus 2018
    Day 7

    Maa and closed sites...

    May 8, 2018 in Cyprus ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After last night's terrific storm I had hoped to wake to blue skies but sadly in the morning the sky was the colour of a bruise and the thunder was still rumbling. Soon it was pouring again and the hotel terraces were awash. Unsurprisingly this meant breakfast was indoors and there was a distinct shortage of tables. After breakfast we spent some time musing on next year's trip though the April wedding replay is throwing out the planning. Much tooing and froing but eventually it looks like being the peloponnese.....
    After this we decided we could visit the archaeology museum whilst we waited for the rain to stop. Sadly or is closed for restoration... We decided to head on to Maa Paleaokastro to look at the chalcolithic period remains there. Google maps was very useful in negotiating back streets of Paphos to get to the main road towards Coral Bay. This area, even more than Paphos is a riot of cheap souvenir shops, cafes offering English breakfasts and assorted heavily tattooed clientele. Maa was tucked away from this souvenir strip in a quiet area just back from the promontory. We walked down a short lane with various brightly coloured flowers forming the hedge (no idea of the varieties apart from some honeysuckle) to the ticket office. More shameless declarations of old age (Beth and I are younger but it complicates the kitty) and we were handed our tickets and the man behind the counter shot off to open the museum! I assume we were the first visitors today.

    The first evidence is a tooth like array of stones that provided an early barrier. Beyond this were the remains of old stone walls. Margaret and I found a lot of curved clay pieces which we suspect might have been crude amphorae but who knows that far back (1200BCE). An interesting site, only occupied for 50 years and one that with modern Lidar and thermo luminescence dating might yield more information. The museum was odd a large modern underground chamber with excellent acoustics and some good info boards but the cases containing artifacts had been removed.

    After Maa we decided to head to the reconstructed huts at Lemba which we had seen the brown sign for on the way up. On arrival it also proved to closed for reconstruction...oh well nothing for it but to find lunch. Back to the hotel and then we headed to a taverna nearby. Everyone was opting for the healthy option of a village salad but I decided to try sheftali.... Skinless pork and lamb sausages served with salad and pitta.... Suddenly the whole table had changed their minds. Fortunately it turned out to be a good choice.
    Afterwards we took the cars to top up the tanks,we hand them back this evening and then to the pool.
    A quick read, a brief swim and up to the terrace for cocktails.. Strawberry Daiquiris today. Hic    Read more

  • TravelerCyprus 2018
    Day 6

    Choirokoitia

    May 7, 2018 in Cyprus ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Up and doing for a prompt breakfast before driving out to Choirokoitia. Danny and Beth were giving this a miss so for a change I was driving rather than navigating. The motorway was new and, for the most part pretty deserted so driving was a pleasure. The central reservation was full of oleander in shades of pink and white. The site was about 1hr 10mins according to Google maps and that seemed about right. The site was easy to find from the motorway and seemed to be having a big cash injection, new block paved parking being laid, some new paths and detailed info boards in French and Greek with a bit of English (thanks to Total who were obviously doing a bit of CSR). Before heading onto the site proper we stopped for a coffee at a tiny bakery which had an assortment of pastries for sale. I spotted the tiny savouries topped with sesame seeds (one filled with tapenade and the other with feta) Margaret and Libby decided to share what they thought was a large raisin filled pastry but it turned out to be the local equivalent of a cheese filled cornish pasty!

    Suitably fortified we headed on to the site which trailed up a hillside. The remains here date from around 7000 BCE. At the bottom archaeologists had reconstructed some of the houses so you could get an idea of how they were used. They were slightly reminiscent of Skara Brae with stone built shelves and some with burial areas in them. There were some smaller huts too which they think were workshops.
    The lower village was surrounded by walls but the theory is that they were for community cohesion rather than defensive against predators (animal or human).

    In the ruins the huts were very close together with only small open areas and narrow walkways. It is hard to get a sense of how many people might have made up this community. The site spread up the hill and we can't really tell how close chronologically the locations were but up there the wall appeared more defensive and the entrance to the village was well hidden.

    We walked back down looking across to terraces that might well have been started in the same era. It seems to be one of those sites that has more secrets to reveal yet. At the bottom we got talking to the expat Brummie who was working in the ticket office (he's been on Cyprus for 30 years).

    We took the opportunity to fill the cars up (full service petrol station) and then headed back to Episcopi to the Kourion museum which had been closed the other day. Anotber lovely little museum just two rooms, the most haunting/ interesting exhibit was from the earthquake house at Kourion; three skeletons wrapped around each other, a man of about 25 protecting a woman of about 19 who in turn was curled around an 18 month old baby.

    Apart from that there were some lovely examples of lettering including a votive offering after being cured. Also there were some more interesting figurines from the archaic period. We had a short chat with the on - site archaeologist and then back into the cars for the drive back to Paphos.

    Back in time for a quick dip followed by cocktails on the terrace (a Singapore sling). Dinner in the hotel followed by Danny's film quiz in which Moira, Beth, Margaret and I lost by 3 points.
    A tremendous storm blew in for about 20 mins preceeded by huge lightening flashes and winds that managed to make the bathroom ceiling lift and clack in a disturbing manner.    Read more

  • TravelerCyprus 2018
    Day 5

    Kourion

    May 6, 2018 in the United Kingdom ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Another day another set of remains. An earlier breakfast and off along the motorway to Kourion which is near Akrotiri. We were going to go to another site, Choirokoitia, which is almost back at Larnaca. But there was some concern that it would take too long to get there, based on our previous experiences. However in the event the motorway was almost empty and enabled us to cover the distance quickly.

    Kourion is principally a Roman site with a few other remains. It is high up on the hilside overlooking the sea. This was a well tended site with the best remains protected by screening and again there were some beautiful mosaics. The weather was slightly less scorching but still walking around a pale limestone site was a hot glaring experience. Margaret and I were keeping an eye out for broken ceramic remains and as usual found some pot sherds left in the path rubble.

    Afterwards we headed back into Episkopi to find the Kourion Museum... We did but it was closed. We're then decided to to find lunch by the beach but after spending rather along time driving around the Akrotiri peninsula past the RAF base and the saltlake without ever getting near the coast we gave up and headed back to Paphos. On the drive back to the motorway we realised that the roads to the coast were all MOD property and prohibited... Thats why we couldn't get to the coast.

    Back in Paphos we headed to a cafe /bar by the hotel for lunch Cyprus dips for me; tatziki, tahini, hummus, taramasalta... 😀.
    After our late lunch we had some downtime before meeting for dinner. For dinner we went to the trip advisor recommended For... Margaret, Libby, Paddy and I decided to have the meze. It started well, more Cyprus dips but with the addition of spiced feta. Then the onslaught started, lemon chicken, pork skewers, the most gorgeous kofta, chicken skewers, marinated pork medallions, and then we were stuffed and the food stopped arriving.... For a moment, then beef sifado appeared and a huge plate of chips. We groaned but politely made an attempt... Then we had a delivery of pork souvlaki and moussaka. The moussaka was lovely but we were stuffed and slightly hysterical (we'd had a similar food avalanche in Kyrinia a couple of years ago). Fabulous food but so much of it.
    Back to the hotel for a quick quiz provided by Margaret... Which tested our current affairs knowledge and our knowledge of the sites we've visited this week. Moira, Libby and I just squeaked it at 19 (compared with 18 for Beth, Paddy and Danny)    Read more

  • TravelerCyprus 2018
    Day 4

    Cape and Paphos ArchaeologicalPark

    May 5, 2018 in Cyprus ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    So today we headed back out towards Polis but at Pegia we turned off for the Agios Georgios Basilica. This was right out on the coast and was a late Roman /early Byzantine site. Still had some nice mosaics left and what looks like a baptismal pool...that drained the water into a Roman tomb! There were ancient rock cut tombs too according to the map but they were far down towards the road. Some interesting pot sherds left in the path rubble too.

    After wandering around this we headed back to Paphos for lunch, followed by a look at the archaeological Park. Lunch was good: a big avocado salad in a cafe by the sea. Danny did get twitchy though when the slightly harried waitstaff were a bit slow in coming to take our orders.

    After lunch we thought we would have a quick look at the archaeological Park before heading back to the hotel and pool. It rapidly became apparent that the site was enormous and an hour was going to do it no justice. This site was the chief city up until 3rd C CE when it was damaged by earthquakes and replaced by Salamis in the North. Still we walked around and looked at various beautifully preserved mosaics. First of these were at the house of Aion which had a 4th C roman mosaic made of five panels. The house of Dionysius had even more beautiful mosaics including an ancient hellenistic one made of pebbles showing Scylla. We failed to do the site justice in the limited time we allowed and so we plan to return on Wednesday as we can get here without a car.

    Back to the hotel for some reading and swimming time. Also a mohito by the pool...

    Then dinner, I had done some research on the best places to eat nearby and we ended up in Suite48. Unfortunately the music here was a bit loud byt the staff turned it down on request... But sadly one of the staff members kept going back and putting the volume back up which irritated a couple of people. Fortunately the food was good so that was some compensation.    Read more

  • TravelerCyprus 2018
    Day 3

    Arsinoe Museum and Aphrodites Baths

    May 4, 2018 in Cyprus ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After the pleasure of an alfresco breakfast we headed off out of paphos towards Polis and Aphrodites baths. Although it wasn't far the drive was pretty slow so it took quite a while to get there. Paddy had been 20 years ago and recalled a deserted spot with a Grotto and castle ruins. In the intervening years however it had obviously hit the tourist list, there were cars and coaches everywhere. The Grotto was now accessed through botanical gardens, that were scorched by the heat. The tiny Grotto was full of people and the unusually hot weather +30C meant that no one fancied the 2.5km walk to the castle. At the car park we bought fruit from a man with a van (a sack of local tangerines for 1e) and headed back along the coast to Polis.
    We parked up near a craft shop and Paddy, Libby, Margaret, Moira and Beth were all straight in there. Libby and Moira were really pleased to discover that the owner was from Helensburgh (where they live). It wasn't a great surprise Southern Cyprus feels more British than Greek government generally.
    We then walked down to the little Arsinoe Museum which was small but beautifully done. Lots of interesting figurines, pots, funerary items and a life size phallic "icon" at least that was what the label said. Margaret and I were less convinced that it was just an icon......

    Back to the car to a restaurant that Isabel had a recommendation for, apparently it has a great terrace overlooking the sea and did fabulous fish meze. After a little wandering down tiny roads we found the place..just as a fierce wind rose. It was far to windy to sit on the terrace we'd have been blown away. Slightly sadly we went inside, fortunately although the weather was against us the food was great, fabulous moussaka for me and Paddy various fishy delights for everyone else. This was a late lunch though; about 3.30 by the time we ate.

    After we had finished of course the wind died away again and the terrace was occupied by happy diners. We hopped back in the car to go back to the hotel. A swim and a sunny read before we met up again.
    We were all too full to manage any proper food so we had sandwiches from the bar and did Paddy's American themed quiz which was good fun.    Read more

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