• 2011 | morocco and uk,  england,  europe,  plymouth,  uk

    Day 13 – Plymouth, Christmas Eve

    Woke up goodly rested this morning. Slowish morning, before a frantic trip to Drake’s shopping centre in central Plymouth for last minute stuff. Then great aunt J’s friend D invited us all over to have Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. ALL ot them. Started woth champagne and canapes, then pinot noir with turkey, onion and sage stuffing, chestnut and sausage meat stuffing, little rolled up bacon parcels, sausages, potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots and parsnips, gravy and bread sauce, And then seconds. Then it was Christmas pudding, complete with 20p pieces, brandy butter and  cream, followed by cheese, port, fruit and chocolate. All of  it very tasty. And a toast…

  • 2011 | morocco and uk,  england,  europe,  uk

    The other traveller

    The travellers: First there’s me, and you’re reading about me here. Then there’s L, and you can get her take on things at http://twoweeksaway.wordpress.com/ We’ve also got a third companion, at least for another few days. Mum. When Mum passed away in May, one of the things we felt would be a good idea would be to scatter some of her ashes in Snowdonia, Wales. She used to go there for family vacations when she was young, and talked lots about the area, and how when she revisited about 10 years ago it hadn’t changed from the way she remembered it. The place meant a lot to her, and as…

  • 2011 | morocco and uk,  africa,  england,  marrakech,  morocco,  plymouth,  transit,  uk

    Day 12 – Marrakech to Plymouth

    The last couple of days having got to me, and stuff and life and headachhes and not enough water meant that I was awake at 2.16am and never properly got back to sleep. Tried a number of ways, different positions, turning upside down on the bed, propping myself into a chair with a blanket, couldn’t get comfy, couldn’t relax, couldn’t shake the headache. Also the very bright blue LED display of the reverse cycle was driving me a little crazy, very bright and unrelenting. I think in that state most things were going to drive me a bit wacky. In one of these insomniac moments checking email I received my…

  • 2011 | morocco and uk,  africa,  marrakech,  morocco

    Day 10 & 11 Marakesh

    Mick Thomas got it right when he said, “there’s no point writing postcards on your bad days”, which is why there’s no post from yesterday. The first rule of travel is that change happens. The second thing is that it’s difficult to leave everything behind when travelling. Had we started our travels in Marrakech, I’m sure I’d be writing about how it”s a bustling, exotic and amazing location, full of life and good food. After 9 stunning days in the rest of Morocco, Marrakech is quite disappointing. It’s crowded, confusing, full of hustlers wanting to bargain over everything, men who want you to come look at their wares, often either…