A spring break on the Costa Blanca March 2022

Monday March 28th 2022

In late March 2022, my friend, Kevin Smith & I travelled from Birmingham to Alicante. For me, on Monday March 28th, I caught an early bus from my home to Reading and train from Reading to Birmingham International. I met Kevin around 8.30am. We proceeded to the airport, passing through security and settled down in Pret a manger while waiting for our flight. Ryanair FR2152

The flight was delayed by 1 hour, 40 minutes from 12.00 to 13.40. The 'plane, a Boeing 737-800 was full. The plane landed at 17.15 local time (1 hour ahead of British summer time). Alicante airport is named after Miguel Hernandes

After we landed, we passed through passport control, we collected our hire car, a Renault Clio and travelled to our hotel Campanile on the outskirts of Alicate. We checked in and then walked to the town, to have some supper and some drinks. We had a burger & chips from The Good Burger restaurant, and explored the winding streets in Alicante. We returned to our hotel for the night. 

Tuesday March 29th 2022

We woke up quite early, packed the car, and checked out. Kevin booked a walking tour of the castle for us, but the recommended parking lot was not available for motorists, as the entrance to the road leading there was blocked. We decided to proceed to Villajoyosa, about 40 minutes by car. 

I had a family holiday just outside Villajoyosa when I was 17. For me this trip was a trip "down memory lane". 

Villajoyosa (La Vila Joiosa in the local Valencian dialect) is a small town of around 30,000 situated between the city of Alicante & the popular resort, Benidorm. Villajoyosa is very different, as the town has kept its small quiet town image. There are remnents of the city walls in the old town. There are the "high street shops" along the main street, and narrow, winding streets lead down towards the sea. Facing the sea there are colourful houses, shops and bars, cafes & restaurants which serve Spanish & international meals. Some are around the small square & there are more along the "promenade". According to a legend, it was said the houses facing the sea were so colourful so that the fishermen home could find their way home. Villajoyosa also is famous for the manufacture of Valor chocolate and there is a museum dedicated to chocolate. 

 

When I was in Villajoyosa in 1973 there was a harbour where fishing boats arrived with their catches, now there is a yaghting marina. 

We drove to beach in Villajoyosa, parked up the car and had our English breakfast & cup of tea on the terrace of L'escenari tavern. We then walked along the beach promenade towards the yacht marina & we then went to Guadalest, a pretty village in the mountains, where we explored and had a coffee and biscuit outside the Balaguer cafe.

We returned to Villajoyosa in time to check in, we spent the afternoon & evening walking & having some beers in the bars on the promenade. We had pizza for our supper on the L'escentari  terrace. 

Our accommodation was a small apartment with a view of the sea. 

Wednesday 29th March 2022

We checked out of our apartment in Villajoysa in the morning. We bought some pastries from the bakery in town, and had them for breakfast on the beach before we left Villajoyosa. As our accommodation in Benidorm was not going to be available until late afternoon, we decided to go on our excursion to Canelobre caves first. The caves are situated in the mountains close to the small town of Busat. It was a 45 minute drive from Villajoyosa. 

Our route took us along the road along which I had travelled with my family in 1973, and we stopped to explore the ruined palace and observation tower atop the hill. The palace is Villa Giacomina which was built in 1910. The building has two distinctive façades, a Christian Gothic façade and an Arabic façade. The villa was occupied by Dr. Alfonso Esquerdo between 1910 & 1922. Dr Esquerdo's statue is on the promenade & facing the sea in Villajoyosa. During the Spanish Civil War 1936 to 1939 Dr. Bastos, a head of Traumatology at the Military Hospital in Villajoyosa was living in the villa. There is a local group who want to restore the villa. On the top of the hill, the Observation Tower has been repainted and spruced up since 1973, but the entry had been blocked. This tower was the private study for a famous psychiatrist & Head of the Republican party Dr. Jose Maria Esquerdo. 

We then went on our way and we arrived at the Canelobre cave around 11.20. Entry to the cave was by joining a guided tour, the next "slot" at 12 o'clock. While waiting we saw an interesting exhibition about the history of the cave & a short film in the visitor centre. We joined the guided tour which included commentary in English about how the cave, its history, legends & even how it's geological features were created. 

After out tour of the cave we drove to Benidorm. My first impression was how much the town had developed into a metropolis of about 60,000 inhabitants, wide boulevards, and high rise apartment blocks. 

We had trouble finding the accommodation agency office as the satnav directions were out by about a hundred yards but I managed to "suss" out how to use the parking meter. 

We found a little cafe which served a "small fish, chips & mushy peas" lunch for 5 Euros, which we had with a delicious cup of tea. 

We drove to Altea, a pictureque town, recommended as a half day excursion from Benidorm. There is a SEAT Altea car manufactured in Spain. 

In a car Altea is about 20 minutes from Benidorm, but due to a lack of parking spaces we returned to Benidorm, and had a job locating the entry to our apartment block. It had also started to rain heavily which didn't help either. 

After arriving, taking our luggage in the apartment we had a coffee. Then we explored the area near our apartment. There were plenty of bars, many of which had loud music blaring out into the street and those drinking inside were also loud. We found a cafeteria and we had kebab on a plate, and a beer for our supper. We then found live music, firstly an Adele tribute singer and a guy singing Take That songs in the railway themed Explorers Club. We then went to the Western saloon which had a country and western theme where we watched a rock playing duo & a country rock female singer called Kelly. 

We then returned to our apartment for the night. 

Thursday 31st March 2022

Afger all the rain yesterday afternoon & evening, the day turned out to sunny. We planned to stay in Benidorm for the day, and we had a late English breakfast in a cafe-bar. The breakfast was tasty, the price amazing at less than 3 Euros. However there was a group of loud people who were already drinking alcoholic drinks. 

Kevin had discovered there was a bus tour of the town Benidorm Bus Touristic. This a bus is based on the design of the San Francisco cable cars. For about the same price of a single cable car ticket in San Francisco, we had an hour's bus tour of Benidorm with commentary. The bus tour started & finished outside Hotel Pelicanos. The Hotel Pelicanos was one of the filming locations for the TV series Benidorm. The tour covered the 1980s expansion neighbourhoods as well as the Old Town and promenade. 

After the tour we walked towards the Old Town, and stopped by a streetside bar & had a beer. We had a great view of the beach & sea, but unlike the newer neighbourhoods the old town was quieter. 

We found Vincent's bar frequented by locals serving tapas (small savoury snacks) and wine. We had 6 tapas & a bottle of wine for 6 Euros. We found another bar and after another beer we went to a Chinese restaurant in the Old Town, where we had an excellent meal for two, including spicy chicken soup, pork, chicken, rice & ice cream. 

Our evening finished sitting outside Oliver's Bar & a walk back to our apartment. 

Friday 1st April 2022

We needed to check out early enough so we could travel to the airport and check in for our return flight. Catering inside the airport was restricted to "fast food" type establishments. We had our "breakfast" from Burger King. 

Our flight departed slightly later than the booked time of 12.40. Although we arrived on the tarmac at Manchester's Ringway airport at 3pm, we had a long wait before being allowed to disembark. There has been a shortage of staff at airports since travelling resumed after the Corona virus panademic. 

Arts 2 Life socially distanced gig October 2020

Arts 2 life

2020 has been a challenging year for many people, but the live music scene and independent musicians have been extremely hard hit. Normal gigs, concerts & festivals had to be cancelled or postponed and venues were closed. Even busking was not allowed during the two periods of lockdown. The first lockdown occurred during the spring and early summer, the second started 5 November 2020.

After the government allowed pubs, cafes and restaurants to reopen (albeit with severe restrictions) in early July, some live music was allowed, firstly out doors, but later on indoor shows with reduced capacity, seating only, occured. 

I started to support my own independent music community and attended several local open mic evenings. The first shows occured during the balmy summer evenings in late July, August & early September. I attended indoor open-mic evenings upto the end of October 2020.

However an opportunity arose in the autumn, the first Arts 2 life showcase in Hallpass Bar, Bristol on 7th October. 

Arts 2 life is a non-profit organisation based in Bristol. The manager-director is Daniel W Starr. Arts 2 life have been hosting monthly showcase gigs for a number of years focussing on unsigned musicians. 

My first Arts 2 life experience was an evening in the Hi-Brasil bar, Bristol in 2018, when Molly-Anne invited me to attend. 

In 2020 & 2021, like all other shows, Arts 2 life were unable to showcase live music in-person but continued to host on line showcases from the Arts 2 Life Facebook page.

On October 7th I also was able to meet Louisa Maria who also lives in Bristol and we were also able to talk about our independent music appreciation project. 

The gig started at 6.30pm. The government had imposed a 10pm curfew for pubs. Daniel had arranged for five local artists to play short sets. 

www.arts2life.co.uk 

Em

Em is the "stage name" for a singer-songwriter Emma Webb, who is also a pianist & guitarist. 

Based in Bristol. Em has an eclectic taste in music. Her influences include 1990s musicians. In 2020 Em has released 3 singles including her current single "Staying too long in the sun" 

Em's set:-

"In time"

"Somebody you love" (Lewis Capaldi)

"Drunk creation"

"Stay (I missed you)" (Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories) 

"A million miles away"

"Don't kill my vibe" (Sigrid)

"Staying too long in the sun" (Em's current single) 

https://linktr.ee/thisisemmawebb

Rachel Phox

Rachel Phox is no stranger to me as she played a set at the previous Arts 2 Life showcase I attended in August 2018. Rachel is superb on electric guitar, and has written some amazing & personal songs. Rachel was born and raised in London. Rachel moved to Bristol and has been seen busking on the streets of Bristol. Her set for the October was a mixture of her original songs and a few covers. 

Rachel's set was:-

"Dangerous woman" (Arienne Grande)

"Just for show"

"Sex and candy"

"And I wake up" (Amy Winehouse) 

"Say something"

"Crazy" (Gnarls Barkley)

www.instagram.com/phoxel

Kirstie Marie

Kirstie like Rachel is no stranger to Arts 2 Life as she has appeared before. Her heartfelt set this evening included a Paramore cover ("In case your heart breaks") and a new song, still untitled. 

I-Sha-Vii

I-Sha-Vii is the stage name of hippie and travelling minstrel Nina. Her set was eclectic & very interesting. The set included original songs and covers of jazz, country and rock-a-billy classic songs. I-Sha-Vii is also a part of a band Amun-Ramen

"If I want"

"I forgot to remember to forget"

"The Montpellier song"

"Let's get naked" (an original)

"Blue moon" (in the style of Elvis Presley)

"Just because I'm a woman" (Dolly Parton)

"Loving you" (Elvis Presley)

"Honeysuckle rose" 

"Leave just as I can" Dolly Parton 

www.i-sha-vii.com 

Craig and Alex Preddice

Brothers from Somerset Craig and Alex closed the showcase with mostly uptempo songs, including well known songs from mega-stars as well as their own songs. 

Le Tour de France The Seagull Railway and

Le Tour de France, day 4 Cognac region

After spending the night in the Akema hotel in Samur, Wednesday 12 August was to be the hottest and most humid day of the trip. We had a good breakfast in the hotel and set off again for an interesting day going the furthest south during this trip. We passed by an medieval walled town Saint Jean de Thouers with a chateau overlooking it.
We travelled through much countryside and reached Ponthaney, a reasonable size town where we stopped for coffee. I went to a pavement cafe overlooking a square with Steve Barnado and Tim Kingcott. We also explored a memorial park. Our journey continued by the Thouet river and we stopped to have a cuppa tea on the bus in the middle of the countryside near to a village Beauvoir sur Niort.
We arrived in the town Cognac. The drink we call 'brandy' is also known as 'cognac' in French after the name of this town where brandy is distilled from grapes grown in this region. As we arrived we saw some of the famous names like 'Hennessey'
We were allowed about three hours in the town to explore, we had a beer in a cafe/bar in the main square, after having to shelter from a very heavy rain shower. Later I had a kebab dinner.
When we were all back on the bus we travelled the relative short distance to a small village Jarnac-le-Champagne, where the Church dominates the village. Our accommodation was the family run Le relais de Jarnac-Champagne. The local boulangerie is also run by the same family. When we arrived in the village it appeared everyone knew we were coming as we received a very warm welcome. Everyone who had, a camera or camera-phone, were taking photos of the bus. Although not normally open late evening the family opened the baker and general store and we were able to buy some drinks and light snacks.

 
www.lerelaisjarnacchampagne.fr

 
As it was so warm we sat outside for as long as possible. The village church bell rang every hour until 11pm. The night started hot and sultry but at times when I was woken the wind had picked up and more heavy rain fell.

Le Tour de France part 3 Les chateaux de Loire

The Tuesday, 11 August turned out to be a very hot and sticky day. After our breakfast at the BRIT hotel in Blois, we set off to explore the Loire Valley. Many famous French noblemen built beautiful châteaux and during the day we visited Chambord, Chenonceau & Villandry.
We first called in to see the Château Chambord from the extensive grounds, and took some photos, including a group photo. The château was built for François 1st & features a double helix staircase. We also stopped for a coffee in the grounds of this chateau. Unfortunately the cafe area was plagued with wasps which spoiled our relaxation time.

Le château Chambord from the rear

Le château Chambord from the front

After exploring the gardens we continued our journey to Chenonceau, a small town with a railway station and a château. A part of the château projects over the river. Unfortunately we could not access the château grounds as the area was fenced off,  and due to time constraints we could only visit the small town of Chenonceau. I was with one of the group and we found a small restaurant/cafe and had a cool drink. 

An SNCF electric train approaching Chenonceau

Cheanonceau (town)

We spent the afternoon exploring the château of Villandry, where we went inside the château and the extensive gardens. We arrived and after the bus was parked we had some hours to explore. Inside the château we explored the room which contained period furniture and explained the history of the château and the people who lived therein.

Le Château Villandry

Our overnight stay was in Saumur but we stopped in Chinon sur Loire for our evening meal and I a plat de jour dinner at the cafe des Belles Artes.

Le Tour de France part two From Paris to Blois

After my first night in France. I had my breakfast in the hotel dining room where I met most of our group. The breakfasts we had were "continental" and normally comprised of a selection of bread & rolls, fruit, cheese, jam, fruit juice and tea and coffee. The first breakfast, like the hotel, was poor in quality. We did not touch the fruit which looked like it had seen better days.
Rocky the Routemaster was parked outside. Rocky was our mode of transport. Each day we travelled through a part of France, taking in places of interest, sometimes these were planned, other times when we saw a cafe (and it was "coffee" time) we parked the bus and joined the locals. At the end of each day we stopped for our evening meal at a town near to the hotel, booked for that evening. Often it was late in the evening when we arrived, and almost time to go to bed. During the the next 13 days I learned a lot about the French way of life, and the way they served (or did not serve) lunches and drinks in the evening. 

The day of the 10th August was very warm with sunshine. The morning at this stage of the holiday was the best part of the day.
After leaving Cergy, we travelled along along country roads which pass through smaller towns and villages. This so where we saw real French life. During the bus journey we noticed many of the locals turning their heads and even taking out mobile phones and cameras to photograph our bus. We made regular comfort stops and bought water for the journey.
After about three hours we stopped in a village, Digny where we had a coffee in a typical French cafe bar called Le Merle Bleu. It was a great opportunity to practice my now rusty schoolboy French. 

Le Merle Bleu, Digny 

In Digny, a charging station for electric vehicles

We passed by Connere where there is a steam railway, but we were heading for Le Mans.
I think everyone associates Le Mans with motor racing. Indeed the race track and museum are just outside the town. For many years there has been the Le Mans 24 race for racing-cars, but also there are motor cycle and saloon car events.
The museum houses almost every type of car that has participated in the 24 hour race, and the rooms were full of fine examples of cars from early 1900s to the present day. There is plenty of material to read about the cars as well as the people behind the racing teams. The late actor Steve McQueen was also featured as he was also keen on motor sport as well as acting. 

The Le Mans mascot

A small Steve McQueen exhibition stand

A few French cars on display

A small open tourer

Two Renault "Quartre Cheveax"

There museum also has a well stocked shop and a cafe serving drinks and light snacks.
Le Mans not only has the race track and museum, but the town also has a modern tramway. Adam drove the bus to the out of town terminus where we saw and photographed a tram and several motor-buses. From the bus we also saw the tram depot. 

One of Le Mans modern trams

We then carried on with our journey as we need to reach Blois where our next hotel was booked the night.
Blois is a historic town on the river Loire, and it also has its own château. We stopped in the town centre so we could have our supper. Some of us chose La Duchesse Anne, a small bistro with seating outside. This bistro like many French cafe, bars and restaurants offers a good value "Plat de jour" a dish of the day which is usually a three course meal. This evening I had a beer, a salad, a beef fillet steak main course and apple tart (tarte aux pommes) 

After supper we returned to the bus and we started talking with a group from Poland who were travelling through France by a modern coach.
Blois is a pretty town, but our hotel like most is "out of town" and is a hotel attached the BRIT Group and these hotels I found were among the best we stayed in as the rooms had quality air-conditioning and free WiFi.

Le Tour de France part one. Versailles

Bonjour

In August I joined a group of enthusiasts who were touring France. The tour was in Central and Western France. The mode of transport was Adam Conner's 1965 Routemaster. Adam had already successfully toured Scotland in 2013, and Ireland in 2014, by Routemaster. 

Unfortunately due to work I was unable to join the tour the tour at the start, but I was able to meet the group who  departed Reading, in the morning, on Friday 7 August. 

Adam kindly allowed me to put my rucksack on the bus, saving me carrying it around on the following Sunday when I met the group in Versailles.

 
Early on the Sunday morning, 9 August, I caught the 10.24 Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. The day was hot and quite muggy. From Gare du Nord I travelled by Metro to Gare Montparnasse. While walking through the station to catch a regional train I met Ruby Landen who is an American singer-songwriter and Ruby was busking. We had a little chat, then I bought Ruby's CD which she was selling. Her music is blues-folk and is very pleasant. However while busking Ruby played a Sam Cooke classic. 

(Photo of Ruby Landen)

I took the regional train to Versailles. I walked along the quiet streets to the Palace of Versailles. As it was August, many of the shops were closed, as the owners, like many Parisians, take their annual holiday.

When I arrived at the palace the queues to enter the palace were very long, but I had already been in touch with Adam, and we arranged to visit the gardens. The gardens are extensive and full of statues, fountains and lawns. I soon found Adam and the rest of the group and I stayed with the group for the rest of the afternoon. 

A statue of Neptune in Versailles Palace gardens

Faune Borghese

A view of the extensive gardens of Versailles

Versailles Palace and Gardens

Geometric lawns (Versailles)

After spending a couple of hours we all walked into the town and found a cafe with outdoor seating. This cafe was the Pizzeria Capri.

We were made very welcome by the a young waitress called Nanou who attended to us while we had our supper.
I had a cabonara and a large cup of cherry flavoured ice cream sundae. I also had a glass of Kronenbourg later.

 
After supper we took a train to La Defence and an RER suburban service to Clergy

Waiting by the train at one of Versailles stations with Stephen, Nick and Brandon

Street art (Clergy, near Paris)

More street art (Clergy near Paris)

Adam had already booked the hotels and this hotel was part of the group Balladines. However this hotel was not to the standard we expected. The hotel was 'tired' and musty and there was no air-conditioning. I was meant to be sharing but the room I was allocated to share was a 'double' my co-guest asked for a twin. He was given a double and as the staff did not bother to swap we both had a double room each.