Hotels provide and need: desk, laptops, upright chairs, indoor poolscolours and lighting and more

 I can type my blogs on a mobile phone. But how much more convenient to use a laptop. But where can you sit to type in a hotel?

We did a week's tour of Spain and stayed at six hotels. Only one had a double size desk big enough for two people and two upright chairs. How wonderful to be back home and able to use a desk! Or two! And two chairs!

What can you do?

1 You can take turns. One person has a shower. The other person uses a desk. 

2 You can ask at reception on the way in if the room has two upright chairs. If not, can they supply one? They might have spare chairs stacked in a dining room ready for weddings and meetings. They might have a chair in an unoccupied room. They might have a spare chair in a bar or restaurant. Your travelling companions in another nearby room might have a chair which they don't use.

3 Sometimes you can use the chair from the balcony. 

4 You can use the hotel lounge. Often there is an unoccupied lounge on the floor above the hotel reception. Tell you travelling companions where to find you if they have gone off hiking or shopping or sightseeing or on business.

5 You might use a bathroom stool.

6 You might move a bedside table or balcony table nearer the bed and sit on the bed with your laptop on the table. 

7 If the table is too low, you might use a suitcase on a suitcase support as a table. If there is no ledge for a shelf for your knees, save a breakfast tray as an extending shelf for your laptop.

8 An upturned waste bin can act as a knee height side table by a sofa, as a coffee cup table, freeing space for your laptop on a higher coffee and book table.

9 Lie on your bed with your laptop on your lap.

10 Note some beds can be lifted to enable the staff to do bedmaking more easily. This was the case at the Parador hotel in Fuente Dé in the Picos mountains in northern Spain.

11 The suitcase support with hard top suitcase on top can serve as laptop support.

12 Enquire whether n upgrade to a suite will give you a second chair or desk.

13 Book adjoining room with an interconnecting door so you can easily borrow a chair from the room of your family or companions.

14 Take your laptop to the restaurant or bar in a hotel or on a ferry and secure a seat near any socket you need.

Top Marks and To Be Improved at Hotels I visited in Spain and Portugal

Parador Fuente De, Picos de Europa, N Spain

Top Facilities - bidet, balcony, fridge, souvenirs for sale from hall cabinet, games on loan, ground floor terrace for outdoor drinks and meetups, upstairs lounge with view, good location beside cable car, nearby shop for sports wear and sticks beside funicular

To Improve Add - add Spanish Scrabble, add an indoor swimming pool or Jacuzzi for when weather stops the cable car. Second upright chair - we made do with balcony tables but they were not near sockets. Show map and location of main attractions nearby, Potes, and monastery.

Hotel Zenit, Coruna

Great helpful reception gave map.

Add - knowledge of local cafe and location of grave of Sir John Moore, British hero commemorated in poem learned by British schoolchildren

Hotel Casa Grande de Bachao, outside Santiago de Compostela

Top Facilities

Upgrade room in annexe has a balcony 

Outdoor pool

To add - remove weeds on walk over grass and intermittent stepping stones to the pool

Resotel, Salamanca

Top Facilities

Garage shop with decorated book-filled eating area and toilet with waterfall tap. Nearby pizza and pasta restaurant with videos, wall displays, under-table glass displays of rock era, bikes, cars.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. 

To add

A second desk chair. Opportunity to buy items in the bedroom and bathroom and hotel such as multi-colour tissues, bathroom mug.

Hotel Bilder, Bilbao

Top Adjacent restaurant serves tapas as well as the hotel breakfast.

Location - walking distance to sights such as bridge, railway station with interior stained glass window, El Corte Ingles department store.

To add change dismal dark lobby, funereal and hard to see, to bright white and clean.

Useful Websites

Bilder Hotel, Bilbao, northern Spain

www.bilderhotel.com

To add

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Gaudi buildings On A Tour Of Northern Spain

 Earlier this year we took a trip to Spain and checked out the locations of Gaudi museums and monuments. The famous Gaudi cathedral is in Barcelona which also has other buildings including the wave topped long benches where you can sit outdoors.

Gaudi outdoor seating.

We took a driving tour through northern Spain. Two of the towns we passed through had Gaudi attractions. You could fly drive or do what we did and take the car on a Britanny ferry to Santander in NW coast of Spain, 2 days overnight on the ship is, not cheap, and a cabin overnight is obligatory, no option of economising by sleeping upright in chairs.

We had a choice of routes, along the coast, or inland via the two cities with Gaudi attractions. 

Tours\& Extra Costs

Another option for you is to take all day tours to Gaudi attractions from other cities in Spain. Check if your tour includes admission to the museum. You could be charged a two or three figures sum in Euros for the tour, then another two figure sum for museum entry. 

When you are driving distrances in France and Spain, extra costs are the tolls. You can buy a card in Spain which allows you to wave the card. This saves the driver or passengr having to open their car door to collect the ticket going in and useing a redit card to pay on the way out. (On a British car with driver on the wrong side, the oppostie side to the ticket machine.)

Lovely Leon

The name Leon is easy to remember. Leon, like Leo the lion. Named after a king or ruler of that name.

We loved the city of Leon, but were disappointed that the Gaudi attraction was in a pedestrian area. Google maps sent us cirling around and we never got near enough to see it. I had hoped at least to photograph the outside of the building.

Parking was hard to find. We also did not want to leave our car with luggage and coats visible which might attract thieves. If you took a tour, or stayed two nights in the city and could leave your luggage in a hotel, so you could avoid this problem.

Gaudi must have inspired local architects. The whole city of Leon was an architectural gem, a paradise for photogrphers. Every buidlings was different, different styles, different colours. Contrasting colours to the next buildings, walls pianted in primary colours, with windows outlined with a different colour or white. Balconies overhanging streets and alleyes. Buidlings of different heights and shapes. No wall staight. In and out, triangles and turrets. Sphares and cirbles. Waves and wonder. Murals and amazements. 

Our second Gaudi stop was at s smaller city. Like Leon, an architectural marvel. WWe drive round and round and up and down, little streets with odd uildings. A clearly marked Gaudi museum. Alas we had a hotel far away to reach. The high price of the Gaudi museum meant it was not worthwhile for one of two of us to pop in for five minutes. Besides, there was the problem of parking.

But now that we know the situation, we can plan another trip for next year or another year and read all about Gaudi online.

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Create a Panorama with Hugin App

 When you want to create a panorama you can do it with a programme called Hugin. Take a series of overlapping pictures of any wide vista. 

You can do it outdoors or indoors so long as you don't have a lot of moving people or traffic or objects. It works best on scenery, such as mountain ranges. For example, from a mountainside viewpoint.

You can also use it for city panoramas, such as rooftops. From the top of a tower. A church tower. A skyscraper. From a penthouse. The top floor of a hotel. A rooftop restaurant.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugin_(software)

Drying a wet swimsuit and checking out of the hotel

In the old days, swimming centres had machines which spun swimsuits dry. But the machines took their toll on elastic and fabric, and hanging straps. I imagine that was why the machines got phased out. In theory you could put a wet swimsuit in the dryer of a hotel with a laundry room. But I would not risk damaging my costume.

Nowadays, what can you do to dry a swimsuit when going from one hotel to another?

On my 2024 trip to Spain and Portugal I had to dry out a wet swimming costume. In theory you should rinse it out in cold water first, to remove any chlorine which might damage the swimsuit fabric.

You can then wring it out, or you might prefer to simply lay it flat between two ends of a hand towel or bath towel. 

If you have already checked out of your room, you might use the downstairs public toilets to change, or the pool changing area, and use a hair dryer on your swimsuit briefly.

At this point, I place the swimsuit in a waterproof bag for transfer to the car.

In Car Drying

Sometimes, if you are driving by car, you can hang up a wet shirt, or tee-shirt. You need to pack a plastic hanger. Check which hanger has a neck which fits the car.

I manage to dry lots of underwear. I squeeze it out, roll it up in a dry towel, than hang it near a radiator or window. If I am staying a week, I hang we items on plastic hangers in a wardrobe. Occasionally there is a hidden drying line above the bath which can be pulled out. 

You can finish off with a hair dryer. Of wear something damp in hot weather.

Another method is to lay it out in the sun on a balcony. But write yourself a note to check the balcony before you leave. Also check behind bathroom doors.

Some people buy disposable panties. Others wear old underwear and wash it and leave it behind.

Hangers

To dry clothes more effectively, after wringing them out and rolling them in a towel. hand them on a hanger. 

To be sure of not leaving anything behind, remove clothes on hangers from the wardrobe, and hang them visible from the open bedroom door when you cast your last look into the room to check.

-ends-

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What modern hotels are missing - adapters, chairs and more

 Modern hotels have not moved into the twentiesth century as far as customers are concerned. Yes, they have security. But several things are missing.

1 One Chocolate For Two People

Back in the Ninetten Sixties, I vividly recall I used to complain about the chocolates, or rather the lack of a second chocolate.  When two of us checked in, at night, hotels gave us one chocolate on the double bed. between the two of us. 

I once rang down to room service and said, "Please send up a second chocolate within ten minutes. If not, call the police, because there's going to be a chocolate fight and a murder."

We got a second chocolate. 

However, I should not have had to ask.

Times have moved on. A new problem.

2 Missing Mobile Phone Sockets

Our current complaint is about lack of provision for two people who both move into a hotel bedroom each person with mobile phones and a computer.

In a huge five star resort hotel in Thailnd, some rooms had sockets for mobile phones. Our son and daughter-in-law had a well-equipped room.

We had paid more. But we got a room with no phone sockets. 

When I phoned down, reception told me, "You can buy an adapter in the shop near the main building." That was a long walk. I was in my night dress. It was night and the shop was closed. The next day I would be busy with other people. Why should I have to buy that? Any smaller hotel would have had a spare or two at the reception desk. 

If you have an adapter, you still need a place to sit. That means a large enough desk for two. And two upright chairs.

3 Upright Chairs

Sometimes you can ask for an extra chair and the management will send one. 

Sometimes you can take a spare chair from the balcony. (But not if it is a chase longue nor a rocking chair.

On my recent trip to Spain, most hotels had a desk and upright chair for one person. And no phone sockets. We had travelled in a car so we were able to load up with loads of items. We had extension leads, adapter, and so on. But hotels should have thsee things. Maybe next time we need to take a folding chair. Or ask in advance for a second chair.

One hotel which provided two chairs was the Imperial Hotel, in the cty of Valladolid, Spain.

TV Guide

Sometimes there is no TV guide. Other times the guide is in a drawer we have not opened, or have not found. Maybe the folder should be lavelled TV guide. The drwaweer should be labelled, hair dryer and TV guide here.

On our last trip in June 2024, we upgraded to better, bigger rooms in the cheaper hotels. That gave us room for two, sometimes a balcony or another chair. At least, it gave us the chutzpah to ask for extras.

Car Travel Advantages

We travelled by car on a ferry to Europe. Wonderful to not have a weight problem. We  took a bag or leads, adapters, socket extension boards, everything we might need.

Tips For Travellers

1 Take adapters for mobile phones, laptops, electric shavers, toothbrushes, etc.

2 Travel by car instead of a plane. 

3 Upgrade on the plane to get more luggage allowance.

4 Check adapters on check-in, and ask reception desk for any adapters, or a room upgrade.

-ends-

See my previous post on hotels in Thailand and elsewhere.

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Pleasures of a Spanish Parador

 Fuente De parador hotel, Picos de Europa, Spain. Forecourt for sociaising and drinking coffee and reading. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

We did a round trip of Spanish Paradores and Portuguese pousadas in previous years so we knew we loved the historic or rural decor and regional cuisine. 

This year, 2024, we stayed at a Spanish parador, Fuente De, chosen by a hiking group leader who needed a hotel near the mountains for a week of hiking. The venue for our group had to have enough rooms, about twenty rooms, which we could book in advance for thirty people.

We had a rainy, cloudy day or two. So we scheduled a tour to a winery/distillery at Potes.

Paradores and Plurals

\In the website, look at the word Paradores. 

However, the letters es elsewhere are not the plural, paradores, but the abbreviation for paraador Es, short for Espana (with an accent n the n) which is Spanish for Spain.

English language sites will spell the plural the Brtish way, paradors.

Booking Direct or Booking.com?

 We booked through booking.com. When just two of us book, we use booking.com because we get special rates and cancellation choices if we pay a little extra, because we use the agency such a lot.  If you are a group, sometimes you can do better by neotiating, or booking direct with the hotel.  The hotel did not offer a lower price than booking through the agency.

Useful Websites

www.parador.es

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Drying hiking shoes

 

Shoes drying over a radiator. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

I should have taken before and after photos. These shoes were covered in mud. The mud washed out. 

How to reach between the grooves? Why bother?  You might find bits of gravel lodged in the grooves. The dirty shoes must be taken home in your luggage. 

Smelly Shoes

Dirty shoes will smell if you walked through mud and cow pats. Or from your feet. Some people suggest stuffing your shoes with paper. We tae a roll of kitchen paper on holiday.

Another system is to take two pairs of shoes and wear them slternating days.

Grooves and Gravel\

I spent a long time washing my shoes. I tried several ways of reaching into the grooves. I used my fingernails. (Not healthy.) Fingernails inside tilet paper. (The paper disintegrates.)

I used tissues folded into corners. I tried the ends of knives, penknives, toothpicks, a sewing needle. 

Brushes\

I thought, 'I wish I had packed a nail brush. Or an old toothbrush.' 

Then I remembered that hotels stock cheap toothbrushes for buests. 

You just need to throw away or label the brushes, to be sure they are not used for cleaning teeth!

Laces

I got the worst of the mud off the laces. The ends which tie together had got muddy.

Drying Shoes\

After I dried the shoes, the residue had formed wavy lines. So I had to wash just the ouside fabric a second time. This dried quicker.

Waterproof Shoes

Now I understand why a customer in a shop by the cable car had asked for waterproof shoes. The seller had told her that the shoes were onlywater repellent. "You could not wade through water, like you can with what the British call Wellington boots, or rubber or plastic solid boots" The customer was satisfied with that.\

Packing Wet Or Dirty Shoes

You can pack your shoes in transparent plasti bags so you can find them in a hurry. Use the same bags when the shoes are dirty.

Emergency Waterproof covers

You can use shower caps. Some hotels give these in bathrooms. Of saave plastic bags wfrom your lunches, and wash them out thoroughly for re-use as show covers. If necessary, use them doubled, with the clean sides against the shoes and outside against clothes, the two sticky of dirty or suspect sides of bags together.

You could also sacrifice a pair of socks. Use them to cover your shoes to proect your clothes. Then wash out the socks at the other end, your next destination or home..

Some hotels offer a shoe cleaning service. Always ask. Even if they cannot clean shoes, they may have handy suggestions.

Another system is to carry your wet or dirty shoes in a separate bag. Until the time comes to board the plane. Then they might by dry, or you can bush off the dry dirt.

If all else fails, throw out or give away the dirty shoes and buy new ones.

-ends-

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Install A Fitness Tracker To Count Your Steps - on Holiday And At Home In Preparation

 

It is easy to install a free fitness and step counter. On a hiking holiday, my friend 'Tina' announced her step count. I asked, "How did you do it? Were you Counting every step?"

"No!" she replied. "I have an app, counting steps. Mine came installed with my phone. Don't you have one?"

"I don't. Does anybody know how I install a fitness tracker?" After a couple of minutes I had three people looking over my shoulder, making suggestions. 

"Go to your app store."

"Where?"

"Just google it."

I looked in google. I went to Play store. On an Apple you would go to Apple Store. 

My friend '"Tina" who showed me what to do had a different mobile phone and a different app and we could not find hers. 

However, my store, Playstore,  offered me several free apps with different logos. You might choose the one with the best reviews, or the first on the list, or the one whose logo is prettiest or most obvious and easy to locate on your phone.

I installed it. I pressed "go" to turn it. I took five steps to test it, but nothing happened.

I was told by one of my friends, "If you just take five steps to test it, nothing happens, because it only starts after several steps."

"Maybe you have to wait half an hour or a day, for it to get going." 

However, I was astonished an hour or two later to find the app had logged me on 500 steps. I was delighted.

I was on holiday with a group, a hiking group, in Spain. They were doing four-hour hikes. 

I simply did an hour or less, and walked around a hotel. That day when I installed the app, after dinner, nothing much had happened.  Someone said, "It will re-set next day."

I looked after breakfast next day. Then when I started at zero, and thought I had been nowhere worth noticing. 

My husband tutted, sighed, and told me, "You haven't walked anywhere."  

But the app had noticed me walking. I had good news for my concerned husband, who was worried about my inactivity.

 Although I had only walked one end of the (Parador) hotel to my bedroom, down a couple of floors, and over to the restaurants, up to the breakfast bar and back, then into the hotel lobby. But I had a count!

How would I do during the day? I walked to the end of the car park to the car, and we drove off. I could keep moving, lifting first one knee, then the other, but the app was like my husband, and refused to count sitting stepping.

However, by lunch time I had logged an astonishing 1000 steps, after simply walking from a car park to a church, to the end of the church. 

Then  back, into the Information Centre, around an exhibition. And to a toilet and back. Wow.

Then, a second tourist visit, to the adjacent tower. From the ticket desk to the lift. (Americans say elevator.) We went up to the battlements. We walked around for spots to take pictures. 

Downstairs, using the lift again. 

I went back to level two for a toilet stop - found another smaller exhibition. 

Outside again, we walked over the road, up an alley, across a bridge to a riverside restaurant. Hardly any distance.

However, I was delighted at the end of the day to show an impressive 5.000 steps. Amazing good news.

Then came the bad news. "You are supposed to walk 10,000 steps a day."

What - ten thousand steps? Every day!

I have, metaphorically, taken the first step. Started tracking. I am half way there on my first day. Without making much effort.

To achieve 10,000 steps a day I would have to get up every hour and walk about a bit. I suppose I should.

At least, now I know. 

I have made two steps forward. Literally, physically, steps forward.

Psychologically, I have made a metaphorical step forward. I am on par with the people tracking their fitness. 

Equally importantly, I am on par with other geeks who know how to install apps.

-ends-.

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Packing List for holidays and business trips, hiking, to hotels including Paradores in Spain

Add numbers and/or colours packed to this master list

 WEARING

Travelling Outfit

Crease-free dress or suit

Quick release sandals or shoes and matching socks

Underwear Pants (underpants in the USA)

Bra

Vest

Warm jumper

Gilet

Warm coat and hat/hood

Spectacles, eyewear lanyard

Purse with home and foreign currency

Keys for house, car, home and destination

Driving license

Prescription for medication

CARRYING

Passport and tickets and visas

Addresses, booking forms for hotels, 

names and phone numbers of people to visit

Travel guide

Phrasebook or menu translator

Diary

Notebook and pencil or pan attached

Mobile phone, case, charger, adapters

Laptop and accessories including power cable, mouse, protective bag, label with name and another person's address and tel

Umbrella

FOOD, DRINK, CROCKERY ETC

Coffee maker, coffee, milk

Tea spoon and cutlery and plates and kitchen towels and Zip-loc bags

Phrasebook or dictionary or DIY printed version such as Phrasebook from Wikivoyage

***********

PACKING

JACKETS

Light summer coat or jacket with hood

Evening jacket

*****

Evening skirt, top or dress, shoes, necklace

Evening dress or suit

***

Casual day wear

Preparation

buy security outfits or sew zips in pockets to prevent items being lost or stolen

Cosmetics

Wash bag including

Shampoo, bath gel, conditioner

nailbrush (for cleaning nails and/or removing mud from shoes and clothes after hiking

Bedroom slippers and thin wrap (Paradores in Spain did not have bedroom slippers, nor bathrobes)

, or cotton wool)

SPORTS & ACTIVITIES

Walking sticks / trekking poles

Ski books, jacket, hat, cloves, socks, warm clothes such as thermal vest and pants.

Tips For Longer Trips & Hikes

Spare elastic for securing pyjama bottoms, tights, shorts, hats.

Shoe glue.

Foot plasters.

First aid kit with first aid instructions. 

Tooth repair kit (sold in larger pharmacies)

Painkillers.

Toothbrush and toothpaste and toothpicks.

Sewing kit with buttons, self-threading needle, snap fasteners, and small scissors.

Nail varnish and remover.

Hair dye (black can be bought in most countries but blonde is hard to find in Asia.)

Comb and hair brush and hair ties or scrunchies.

Folding hood with brim sewn onto jacket collar, or attached with two or three safety pins.

Belt and or braces to hoist trousers out of mud.

Sew Spare buttonhole from discarded old shirt onto tab under trouser legs, with button on outside, to shorten trousers in hot weather or wading through mud or streams or stepping stones. 

Entertainment On Board Brittany Ferry - Books and Velazquez Las Meninas

 

Our ship had a well stocked shop with a row of simple, entertaining books on learning Spanish. Plus toys for children, tee-shirts, flipflops, chocolates, bottles of drink and more.

Acitivites - Whales & Wildlife

Watch the list of activities. The whale watching was cancelled because the decks outside were closed because of bad weather. We were taken out for five minutes later in the day to see tht outdoor artwork, but in one minutes I was almost blown off my feet and as the ship lurched and had to be grabbed and helped back inside.

I did however, instead get to hear a talk about wildlife, Orcas. I picked up their leaflet showing the sizes of dolphins and whales.

French & Spanish

Brittany sounds like Great Britain, but is related to Brittany in France. The ships are French and the staff speak French, which is helpful for people like me who learned French at school and speak better French than Spanish. The announcements are in three languages, and by listening to all three we could hear that Spanish is pretty easy to understand - if you hear the English or french first.

We treated outselves to dinner in the Azul restaurant, sitting by a large round porthole. 

Dinner in the Azul restaurant on board Brittany Ferry. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Azul Restaurant

The lights dimmed and I guessed either we were sinking like the titanic or it was a birthday. I am glad to report the latter. A couple who had a birthday were given a chocolate profiteraole with a sall candle on top and a couple of staff sand happy birthday.

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What to see in Santander - cathedral, art gallery, clifftop and more

 Santander, the post and sailing centre on Spain's northern coast is a lovely city. You drive from the ferry port straight into the city centre, passing an ultra modern art gallery and underground car park, where we parked to visit the cathedral.

The Cathedral

The Cathedral is surprisingly small.  Like a living room with two side rooms. The free leaflet was easy for me to read although I have very limited Spanish.  You can see it all in 5-10 minutes.

Then a drive along the coast road, with at ground level passing the little boats and the sea. Or on the clifftop where the joggers run along under the trees passing the bus stops and the open top tourist bus. Cyclists have their own lane railed off beween the cars and the jooggers.

Down again to ground level you see the palatial building of the casino. Opposite is the grand hotel where wwe had a resonably priced coffee and toillet stop.

Altogether delightful. You might find yourself driving around the one way system in circles looking for the cathedral which we did before we discovered the reasonably priced car park which is adjacent to the cathedral.

Altogether, visitor friendly.

-ends.

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Britanny Ferries from Portsmouth, England, to Santander, Spain.

Boarding Brittany Ferry by car. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
 

We started out holiday in Spain with a sea crossing, instead of taking a quicker and cheaper flight, a fly-drive holiday, because we wanted to take our own comfortable car door to door and to be able to bring back wine.  We took a delightful Britanny Ferries vessel from Portsmouth on England's south coast, to Santander which involved two nights on the ship. (Coming back from Bilbao inolved only one night on board.) 

The route goes along the Channel, south through the Bay of Biscay, which was rough. Then down past the coast of France to the north west coast of Spain. 

We left after midnight. We had a full day on board. After the second night, we arrived first thing in the morning. On board you stay on British and Irish time. You are woken very early, but with delightful, restful, soothing flute music. 

Clock

However, you arrive in Spain, having re-set your watch, which is on Spanish time an hour later. (France and Spain and Western Europe are all an hour ahead of the UK. (Portugal, friendly Portugal, are on the same time as us on departuere from the UK.) 

Inside Cabin

Trompe L'oeuil in inside cabin of Britanny Ferry. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

All the ouside cabins were booked so we ended up in a slightly cheaper inside cabin. However, we were very happy with our cabin. The clever trompe l'oeuil painting created the illusion of a sea view through shutters. 

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Caffe Concerto in London, Paris and Worldwide.

 

Caffe Concerto, London, window display. Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Caffe Concerto table with flowers. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Menu at Caffe Concerto. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

View of restaurant interior and waiter in black suit. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Caffe Concerto inside, showing bright lighting at night.  Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Attractive window display and outdoor seating at Caffe Concerto. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The branch we visited was near Trafalgar Square in London, England, UK.

We had a good coffee, brown sugar in sachets already on the table. When we asked for cold milk it came up fast.

We shared a cherry tart, which seemed one of the healthiest of all their tempting sugary pastries.

Caffe Concerto has branches all over the world including Paris in France, the Middle East, Qatar, UAE Saudi Arabia - Jeddah, and a mall in Riyadh.  In the UK, several are in London. Locations include Haymarket, Westfield, The Balcony W12,  One is in Birmingham. 

Reviews

You can read up-to-date reviews of each branch visited on different days of the week and times of day  on Tripadvisor. Staff might change.

Your needs might be different from the reviewers and also change according to the timing of your visit. For example, if you are in a hurry to catch a train home, you might be in a rush. On the other hand, if you have time to spare, you might like a place where you can linger, savour, and are not rushed out.

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Meaning of Names Of People You Meet On Your Travels

 Many names reveal the country of origin of the person you meet.

Spanish

Alba means dawn in Spanish, Italian and Catalan.

Paz, a first name for a man, means peace in Spanish and Portuguese. It also means fine gold in Hebrew. 

Leo or Leon in many languages means Lion.

UK

Many names indicate occupations, locations or surroundings of the ancestor or their employer. Baker, Cooper (maker of barrels for wine). Smith. Taylor. Silver (works in silver) or Gold (jeweller). Diamond (jeweller). Carter (drives a cart or makes carts). Clerk (keeps records or works in an office). Farmer. King, Prince. Bishop. Singer. (Sings as an entertainer or in a church or synagogue.) Gardiner (gardener?) Shepherd. Shipman. (Builds ships or works in shipping?)Wine (maker or merchant). Forest. Wood. River/Rivers. 

Pitman, as in Pitman's shorthand, originally meant a miner or somebody who worked in a pit or lived near a pit.

Marks & Spencer

A Spencer, as in Marks & Spencer, was a dispenser (from the French word). Appropriately Mr Spencer, one of the two co-founders of Marks & Spencer, was a cashier, collecting and dispensing money. He went on to do a similar role in Marks & Spencer.

The most common UK surname is Smith. 

Germany

In German this is Schmidt.

The English surname Tailor becomes Schneider in German.

I find it easier to remember names if I know the meaning.  While discussing, you repeat the name which is another aide memoir. Also, discussing the meaning of somebody's name creates an opportunity to enthuse about their culture.

If I have a meeting, I check online the meaning of people's names. That sometimes has added unexpected aid to your meetings. For example, you may find out that a festival is taking place, so they cannot meet you, or they might invite you to a celebration.

Indian Patels

Patel is one of the commonest names. It mostly means farmer or land owner, It can also mean merchant, or tenant. 

I was on an Air India plane and met a Mr Patel when we had a long delay boarding and got chatting. When we left the plane, we met up again collecting luggage. I said, 'Hello, again, Mr Patel.' He was immensely impressed by the fact that I remembered his name.  

Useful Websites

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Lovely Lavender and Model Village in Vauxhall Park, London

Model Village in Vauxhall Park, London. 

A walk through Vauxhall Park under the trees.

Vauxhall Park in London has lavender and a model village. A good place for a day out with the family.

Lavender

Lavender can be used to scent clothes. I started using lavender soap and moisturizer and cosmetics when I read that it repels mosquitos and I was living most of the year in Singapore. I have lavender in the garden in London. Without picking it, to enjoy the aroma, you can pinch it between your fingers and sniff your fingers, and to preserve the aroma, rub your fingers on your hair.

I have tried putting the sprigs of lavender in the pockets of my clothes, but this disintegrates into a mess which has to be emptied out. So just enjoy the look of the lavender and take pictures close up of the colours.

Useful Websites

 https://www.facebook.com/share/o3xF7Sj79PeXHTBp

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Happy Birthday plate at Kiyoto sushi bar and restaurant

 

Happy Birthday written on the plate for dessert, at Kiyoto Sushi Bar and Takeaway (and restaurant), Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Delicious Dessrt

• We finished with dessert. Only two desserts on the menu. A fried pastry, and a chocolate dessert.. 
• We were a group of five and they had provided five pieces of the dessert.
• 
  
• To everybody's surprise, the person most outspoken against the so called unhealthy and unnecessary batter dessert was the person who was the biggest enthusiast.

Getting There

A short walk downhill from the station, in the centre of the Broadway. Their website says they have a loyalty card. This was not mentioned to us when we booked.

Useful Website

https://www.kiyotosushi.co.uk/

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Kiyoto Sushi Restaurant for freshly cooked and uncooked food

 

Circular table at Kiyoto Sushi Bar, London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

We had booked a table for a birthday celebration. Our table was round, with some banquette seating and also two freestanding chairs. The soy sauce on the table has two colour lids, green and orange. Orange for stronger flavour. 

We were provided with wooden chopsticks, fresh ones, stuck together, in a paper wrapper.

I liked the sweet potato, which we had in two items.

Sweet potato was available as an appetiser, sweet potato tempura, , as inside out or hand roll. And in a Vegetable Crunch roll (8 pieces per portion) at nine pounds ninety five pence.

We finished with a dessert, which we had asked them to supply with a candle. They had asked us on arrival what we wanted written on the plate and we said Happy Birthday.

Rice with Main dishes of  chicken, salmon or cod. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

• 
  
• Delicious Dessrt
• We finished with dessert. Only two desserts on the menu. A fried pastry, and a chocolate dessert.
• to everybody's surprise, the person most outspoken against the so called unhealthy and unnecessary batter dessert was the person who was the biggest enthusiast.

Lovely Ladies Toilet

The Ladies toilet was clean and beautifully decorated. The floor is a work of art with the star shape pattern.

• 
  
  
  Ladies toilet in Kiyoto. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
• 
  
• Useful Websites
• https://www.kiyotosushi.co.uk/

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Kiyoto Japanese Restaurant Menu Explained

 The UK has more than 2,500 Japanese restaurants and Sushi bars, so it's not hard to find one nearby, espcially if you live in London. The UK has even more Indian restaurants, estimated 8,000, and Chinese estimated 11.500. For the adventurous eater, plenty of choice. Why not Japanese? 

The Kiyoto sushi bar has five branches in London, Hatch End, Boreham Wood, West Hampstead, Cockfosters and Mill Hill. 

Does the name sound familiar? Japan has a city called Kyoto. To make it easier to find the restaurant rather than the city in google searches, the restaurant name is spelled differently with an etra i before the y.

They are open seven days a week, noon to 3 pm for lunch and 1700 to 22.00 with last orders at 9.30. p.m 

But what should you order? The menu has little pictures but it helps to have some translations.

Some of the dishes have explanation underneath but in small print, so if you need reading glasses or are not by a window it helps to know in advance.

Alphabetically

FOOD

agedashi - dashi is a stock/sauce/soup/marinade for cooking, based on fermented, dried anchovy, sardine, tuna or kelp, used for deep-frying tofu to add flavour. age-dashi, means deep fried in dashi.

carpacchio - raw meat

chicken katsu curry - deep fried chicken in breadcrumbs with curry

edamame (vegetarian) a green raw soy bean which looks like a big green bean, think of it as not baked beans but those big white oval beans without sauce

gunkan - literally war-boat, I think of gun-can. Shaped like a little boat with points at both ends and a casing of seaweed like a painted boat. Made of rice and maybe a filling on top.

gyoza - in Chinese jiazi, could be pasta dumplings or envelopes and filled with a stuffing such as minced pork mixed with a vegetable

hand roll (or temaki) is cone shape, pont at one end, flat at the other, shaped like a small doll-size ice cream cone to be held in your hand

inari pocket - tofu pouches (unlike sushi which are rice). They look like teeny opened purses with fillings.

inside out (also called uramaki) has rice on the outside, filling seen in the centre from on top, like a bullseye

maki roll

mayo - mayonnaise

miso dressing - miso soup is made from fermented soy. 

nigiri

poke

ramen - noodles

sashimi - thickly sliced cuts of raw fish 

scallop shellfish (not to be confused with shallot which is vegetable)

spider roll

sriracha sauce

sushi - bite-size or two-bite size pieces of shaped white rice with fish or vegetable in contrasting colour (eg pink raw fish or yellow wafer of sweet omelette, laid on top of a brick shape block of sticky stuck together rice, like a white brick with a coloured topping)

tataki

tempura - deep fried chicken or other food

tofu - made from soy milk, low cost and nutricious

udon

wakame

yellow tail - a big fish, but given different names in different countries

DRINKS

Ozeki sake dry 180 ml 8.98 GBP

Ozeki Saki sparkling 250 ml 11.95 GBP

asahi/kirin/sapporo 33.95 GBP

Vegetarian Dishes

Appetisers

vegetable tempura

Salads

Spinach and crispy onion

Sides

edame

Japanese pickles

rice

seaweed

Other Vegetarian dishes

Maki roll - asparagus / avocado / cucumber / omelette (not for vegans)

vegetable crunch roll

vegetable set

Home Guests For Take Away and Health converns

A pink topping to Sashimi which looks like smoked salmon has less flavour because it is raw fish. 

Health & Raw Fish

Make sure any guests like raw fish. I bought sushi as a treat for a Malaysian friend and she refused to eat it because she said she never ate raw fish. This was in tropical Singapore where the temperatures are very hot.

When I looked up Sushi in Wikipedia, I was dismayed to learn that the risks are not only fish going off in the heat. Raw fish carries flukes, a polite word for worms! Not just one kind of worm, but three different types. Flat worms. Tape worms. And - enough!

Maybe, if I am not tempted by the pink fish, but still feel nervous, I should stick to deep fried chicken on skewers or toothpicks. Tofu sounds safe. Maybe rice with omelette topping. 

Let's end with a happier vision. Let's dream of Japanese desserts!

Choice of Restaurants

The Kiyoto restaurants are all over north London. 

In addition, Brent Cross and central London have many branches of Wagamama. 

For eating Japanese at home, you can order take away from Kiyoto from Deliveroo. 

Supermarkets in the UK stock sushi.

In addition to the supermarket fare, you can buy from the website of the Japanese Centre in Leicester Square. 

Desserts

The Japanese Centre website shows a large variety of desserts, bite size pieces with flavours such as green tea. I subscribed to their mailing list and every few days I get an offer of a discount and/or free postage.

Hello and Goodbye

If you said or heard or thought of good evening in Japanese, when you arrived, 

こんばんは

Konbanwa

おやすみ

Oyasumi good night.

Happy birthday in Japanese is

お誕生日おめでとう
Otanjōbiomedetō

Luckily for English speakers, the Japanese sing happy birthday to you in English.

You might like to recall

Sayonara. (Goodbye in Japanese.)

Useful Websites

https://www.kiyotosushi.co.uk/menu/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashi

https://www.designmynight.com/london/blog/10-best-japanese-desserts-in-london

https://www.designmynight.com/london/restaurants/clapham/kibou-london

https://www.japancentre.com/en/categories/11102-desserts

https://www.ibisworld.com/united-kingdom/number-of-businesses/asian-restaurants/14532/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi#/media/File:Noodlecat_-_Lee_Anne_Wong_-_%22Lucky_Dumpring_Jiao_Zi%22_(6739677033).jpg

Inari recipe and picture from a vegetarian society

https://vegsoc.org/recipes/inari

https://deliveroo.co.uk/brands/kiyoto-sushi?https://deliveroo.co.uk/brands/kiyoto-sushi?

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Banksy Tour of London - Every Single Banksy Piece in London, Summer 2023

Banksy in London.

Shop until you drop. By Baksy. From Wikipedia.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/INFUNLY-Unframed-Pictures-Graffiti-Inspirational/dp/B0BK9BNT41/ref=asc_df_B0BK9BNT41/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=641529185451&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=391665546170301695&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045970&hvtargid=pla-1944092114569&psc=1&mcid=7950fbf8c6bc369d83a729155c696259

Banksy's Street Art

Banksy street art. Everywhere. On the walls. 

Or buy a book.

A lot of it.

You can also buy a painting.

Or a tee shirt. Be a walking Banksy.

Useful Websites

https://www.thebanksyshop.co.uk/banksy-ratapult-t-shirt/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpZWzBhC0ARIsACvjWRObdb9TkG5J2mkolEkVBTFSDRbLHki26uoIM2_GSbPNR86llE_f8OwaAv97EALw_wcB

Floating Tram in Wuppertal, Germany and Visit Engels House Museum, Communist Manifesto Creation

 The floating tram is in Wuppertal, Germany, on the north coast of the country.

The name Wuppertal comes from the river Wupper. Tal means dale.

Let's start with where is it. North Germany.

The city has steep streets, green parks including a sculpture park, and several architecturally interesting modern buildings.

Steep Streets

Green Parks - Sculpture

A memorable landmark in the colourful figure of eight, flat roof, junior university building. 

The orange tower.

The Lawrence Church

Church, Germany.

The swimming pool

Swimming pool, Germany.

Ilisenturm

Elisenturm, Wuppertal, Germany.

Engel's House

Photo and caption from Manos in Wikipedia.

A museum you can visit. Very opulent, capitalist looking house. 

Family home, of Friedrich Engels, who jointly with Marx wrote the Communist manifesto in the swan restaurant in Brussels, Belgium.

Another modern building, the New Burgische Synagogue.

The city is twinned with the Shonan monoril in Japan.

Shonan monorail, Japan. 

You can find monorails worldwide, in Singapore, and East London in England. But the suspended monorails look more challenging for the builders - and nervous  passengers!

Pina Bauch Dance Theatre

Pina Bausch was famous for her dance groups which improvised and did unusual theatre. One well-known performance had the dancers with blindfolds. Dancers served tea from trays to the front row of the audience. 

Her groups performed worldwide, including ain the cultural Olympics fbefore the Olypic games. Other danced in a forest of leaves falling about them, or on soil underfoot. After she died, the group continued.

More information from

Useful Websties

Suspended railway in Wuppertal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal_Schwebebahn?

Visit Engels House in Wuppertal, Germany

https://www.mi-wuppertal.de/en/news/guided-tour-engels-garden#:~:text=After%20the%20guided%20tour%2C%20you,is%20included%20in%20the%20price.

Wikipedia Wuppertal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal

Monorail in Japan

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Shonan_Monorail

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B & K salt beef bar Takeaway

 The salt beef is the best in the world, though not as good as it used to be, before health and safety insisted they don't leave it maturing as long. 

The strudel is moreish. The apple and sultana filling is divine. Fresh yet tasty with additional flavours. The pastry was a bit dry and cardboardy, but still the filling oozes happiness.

Finally, another best in the world. Cheesecake. Divine. Scrumptious. Perfect in every way. As good as my old favourite, the baked cheesecake from the coffee house, American style. This one is more creamy. I usually prefer baked to creamy, but this one is not a mousse but a solid, yummy. I could eat another. Another three. 

A wonderful take away. 

Apple strudel from B & K, salt beef bar, Hatch End, Pinner, Middx NW London, England, UK. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

B & K has another branch in Edgware run by another member of their family. Same range of food. Same set up. Small seating area for a quick bite, lunch, dinner, and a busy take away counter with lots of savoury and sweet items on display. 

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