Favourite Cities & Hotels In Spain Post 1 Summary of my Spanish trip, Santander and Bilbao, and Hiking at Parador Fuent De

We landed on French Brittany Ferry at super Santander.

SANTANDER CITY

Santander clifftop drive, jogging path and cycle track. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I loved Santander's hilltop drive. The nearest UK seaside city I could compare it to would be Bournemouth. Elegant. Little sailing boats, as well as big ships in the port. Walks down by the sea or up on the cliff. Running and cycling alongside the trees along the clifftop. 

We drove downhill to the huge palatial Casino and stopped for breakfast in the grand hotel opposite.

The Cathedral was tiny, at the back of an uphill square. But we found a reasonably priced underground car park sandwiched between the cathedral and the modern museum of art.

The cathedral was tiny.   

Hotels in Spain

Post 1

Santander, the sweet Seaside city of Santander

Santander Hotel

Grande Hotel is on the seafront. Right where the action is.

BILBAO

Bilbao: Big, Busy and Bustling

Hotel Bilder boutique hotel. Bilder means picture. It has some pictures of old times.  The ground floor restaurant, door beside reception serves Tapas in the evening and full meals at the restaurant at the back where you have breakfast. 

The car park is a short drive away. You are lucky if you get a parking spot nearby to unload or load.

What's good? Location, location. 

We walked across the bridge to the railway station known for its indoor stained glass mural.

We stopped at two wine shops to stock up on Spanish wine which is cheaper and in some cases not by exported to the UK. Ruiz, a family business, has a collection of mugs, like toby jugs in British pubs, around the top shelf.

A larger wine shop, El Rincon del Vino, has a tasting room at the back but apparently nothing happening for the public until September.

Next day we drove out via the Guggenheim museum, an awkward looking building. Love it or hate it. Some people loved the building but were not keen on the artwork inside. I was the reverse. We stayed at a hotel opposite on my last visit. 

My impression of Bilbao. Big, busy, bustling. Crowded. 

Hotel Bilder Boutique

Least Liked

At first I didn't like the black tiny lobby. 

Best, Most Liked

But the adjacent restaurant for dinner and breakfast was convenient. The location was fabulous. 

Parking Tip

Parking in a nearby car park, mean first unloading and later loading up suitcases on leaving on the bay outside. However, the police made us move from what we later realised was a spot for the handicapped, to another slightly further spot which became free.

PARADOR FUENT DE

The paradors were founded decades ago to restore or renovate old, historic buildings and encourage tourism to the regions. Hotels have antique furniture and regional food. 

Parador Fuente De in the Picos de Europa

Expect a long winding drive, with road works. Soaring peaks.

The parador is the end of the drive, beside the cable car to the rocky hilltop.

Least Favourite 

Queue for cable car tickets. Cable car cancelled in bad weather - sudden mist.

Most Liked, Loved

Almond tart/cake for breakfast.

Good shop beside the cable car where I bought a rucksack. Upper floor lounge with a view.

Cows with a cowbell in the slope behind.

Best - most favourite parts of this hotel stay.

Balcony with two chairs. Bidet. Fridge. Cows with a bell.

*************

We spend another four days seeing Porto in Portugal and the wine museums.

Hotels in Portugal (Post 2)

Wow Museum, Gaia on the southern side of Porto, the left bank. Hillside museums. Hilltop view. If elderly, look for the indoor lift.

Douro Museum.

London Is Buzzing With Tourists, Bicycles and bookshops - we bought a book on Bulgaria

UK flag.

My family spent a day in London and reported back to me.
"It was exhausting - hayfever season.

"Outside in the street you don't hear English. Inside the buildings, in restaurants, you hear English, but not in the street."

I queried:
"Tourists, I presume?"

"You can presume what you like, dear."

Nowadays many Londoners and visitors are using borrowed bicycles. A couple of days ago I saw a poster at a station from Transport for London about cycling.



One of our day's destinations was the Stanford map (and book) shop for books and maps for a forthcoming trip to Bulgaria. Stanford with an N, not to be confused with the city of Stamford. Ma for maps but N in Stanford.

They stock every kind of map you can imagine. A wine map of France. But no more detailed wine maps.

 The shop has a cafe.





































Lonely Planet dictionary and phrase book. It is small. Small and thick. Handy size.

In the cafe we could check out the walking map of Bulgaria, and browse through the book we bought on Bulgaria, a dictionary and phrase book. Monday is a non-busy day in the map shop and cafe. All quiet, near Covent Garden.


Useful Websites
Map Shop
http://www.stanfords.co.uk/
https://www.bike2workscheme.co.uk/

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Christmas Beer Festival, Essen, Flanders, Belgium Dec 16, 17 in 2017

Essen in Flanders, Belgium. The building in the middle has the stepped gable typical of this area.

Problem
Belgium produces so many beers that it's fun to try several. If you like beer, you want to try new ones. If you don't like beer, it's a chance to try new varieties and find out if there's one you like. Where?

Answers
Big centres with cultural attractions are:
Brussels: You will ask to see, or be taken to see the Mannekin Pis. Big city with historic areas.
Bruges: A pretty place with bridges and lace and swans.
Essen: Beer festival in December, cycling moto
Ghent.
Antwerp.

What's Where In Europe?
Spain is to the south. Going north we come to the French border. Further north is Belgium, a country sandwiched between France and Holland, with those speaking French in the South, The Netherlands or Northern Lands to the north. Germany is to the East.

Tell Me About Essen
Now there's a new place to add to the old favourites.
Essen. Essen is not familiar to those who live in England, but it's easy to remember because the German word to eat is essen.  Essen in Belgium is twinned with the town of the same name in Germany! If you go to Essen in Belgium it's a place where you will both eat and drink, Belgian food and drink.

It would be fun to do visit both places named Essen on the same or subsequent trips. Lots of opportunities for punning captions to photos: "Here we are, fressen in Essen."

Fressen sounds like German, or Yiddish, which is mostly German with the occasional Hebrew word) Snacking in Essen. I checked. Wiktionary says: From Yiddish פֿרעסן (fresn) or German fressen (“to devour, gobble”), from Middle High ... fress (third-person singular simple present fresses, present participle ...)

Travelling To And Through Belgium
Belgium is a country I have often crossed, usually by car, occasionally by train or coach, on my travels going from England to Europe. Where is Essen? Essen is on the Northern border of Belgium. Essen is in the middle of the border going east from the coast, or west from central Europe. Essen is north from Brussels, in the twelve o'clock position.

The train passes through it as well. The next train station stop going north from Essen in Belgium is a town in the Netherlands.

Biking Race and Contest
If you are into cycling, The Grand Prix Rouwmoer is a cyclo-cross race held in December, which is part of the BPost Bank Trophy. Cyclo-cross racing can be in the town or countryside or both and involves meeting obstacles, dismounting and carrying your bike across. More challenging for the participants, more fun for the supporters and observers.

Learning Belgian Languages and Spotting Signs
Now that I remember the country's layout, geography, it's easier to guess that you might find more people speaking French in the south, and more speaking Dutch or Flemish, going north or east. Flemish and Dutch sound like a softer version of German, less clearing your throat with the CH sound familiar from the Scottish words Loch Lomond, and more pursing your mouth to make oo sounds.

Belgium's Bilingual Signs
Belgium is the place where you see signs in two or three languages. I remember driving along looking for a place name in French, missing the turning. I soon realized that Gent was Ghent. It took a look at a map for me to recognize that place names in Flemish and French, Gent and Gand, were both the same place, the one we wanted.

I had been looking at Duolingo and wondering which language to learn next. Belgium is a great country for brushing up your schooldays French or German or adding Dutch to your existing smattering of languages.

Belgium For Fun

A popular Belgian books series features Asterix and this one is set in Belgium. You can buy it from Amazon before your visit.

Let's Be Serious
Where next? Also in Belgium, a huge number of wartime sights and museums and trails.
If you are into recent history, where Dad and Granddad were sent in WW1 and WWII, Flanders Fields is the place to go. With the centenary of the 1914-18 war, all the places with connections have made maps and routes and enhanced museums and visitor experiences.

If you are into literature, you will recall the words, "In Flanders' fields the poppies grow, between the crosses, row on row ..." by a Canadian soldier, written at a funeral in WWI and now repeated on Memorial Day, a Monday in May, in the USA.

Belgian Food
Marks and Spencer in the UK and worldwide sell Belgian chocolates at Christmas time and all year. Belgian chocolates are renowned for their soft, smooth milk chocolate, and their brittle dark chocolate formed into unusual shapes. You can visit chocolate factories and go to speciality (the online dictionary seems to like a word which to me sounds like an Americanism, Specialty) chocolate shops in Belgium.

Belgium For Food
Belgium is known for chips which you can buy from stalls, like fish and chips in the seasides of England. This meal or snack will keep you going on your travels, when either driving or walking. To keep warm, instead of cakes, try hot waffles. The French for waffle is gaufre. I thought I had also seen gaufrette. You can buy big ones or small ones.

Belgian Beer

Beer

Belgium is to beer what France is to wine; it is home to one of the greatest beer traditions in the world. Like other European countries in medieval times, beers were brewed in a huge variety of ways with many different ingredients. In addition to the standard ingredients of water, malted barley, hops and yeast, many herbs and spices were also used. This activity was often done in monasteries, each developing a particular style. For some reason, uniquely in Belgium many of these monasteries survived almost into modern times, and the process was handed over to a local commercial brewer if the monastery closed. These brewers would often augment the recipe and process slightly to soften the taste to make it more marketable, but the variety survived in this way. These beers are called Abbey beers and there are hundreds and hundreds with a range of complex tastes unimaginable until you've tried them. 

The Trappist label is controlled by international law, similar to that of Champagne in France. There are only six Trappist Abbeys in Belgium that produce beer qualified to be called Trappist. In order to carry the Trappist label, there are several rules that must be adhered to during the brewing process. The beer must be fermented within the walls of the abbey, the monks of the abbey must be involved in the beer-making process, and profit from the sale of the beer must be directed towards supporting the monastery (similar to a non-profit organization).

Belgium offers an incredible diversity of beers. Several well known mass-produced Belgian beers are Stella Artois, Duvel, Leffe, Jupiler, Hoegaarden. The names given to some beers are pretty imaginative: eg Verboden Vrucht (Forbidden Fruit), Mort Subite (Sudden Death), De Kopstoot (Head Butt), Judas and Delirium Tremens. 

Warmly recommended are also Kriek (sweet and sour cherry beer) and, for the Christmas season, Stille Nacht (Silent night).

Plain blond draughts (4%-5,5%): Stella Artois, Jupiler, Maes, Cristal, Primus, Martens, Bavik.

Trappist ales (5%-10%): Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westvleteren, Westmalle.

Geuze: Belle-Vue, the lambic Mort Subite (Sudden Death), Lindemans in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Timmermans, Boon, Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, Oud Beersel, Giradin, Hanssens, De Troch.

White beers: Hoegaarden, Dentergemse, Brugse Witte.

Jenever

The city of Hasselt is well known in Belgium for a local alcoholic beverage, called jenever. It is a rather strong liquor, but it comes in all kinds of tastes beyond your imagination, including, but not limited to, vanilla, apple, cactus, kiwi, chocolate and much more. Hasselt lies in the east of Belgium, and is about one hour away by train from Brussels or Antwerp.

Pubs

Pubs, or cafés, are widespread. They all have a large variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic, hot and cold beverages. Some serve food, others don't. Some might specialize in beer, or wine, or cocktails, or something else. Since 2011, smoking in pubs has been forbidden by law.

Souvenirs and Gifts

In the old days I preferred to purchase permanent souvenirs for myself and others. After all, food and drink will be finished in a week or two. Now that so many people have houses full of clutter and travel souvenirs, some are happy to have food and drink instead.

Buying Gifts
After that I gave gift recipients a choice. Would you prefer something with lace or something to eat? For people who have everything, or whose tastes you don't know, Belgian food can be a good gift.

Once you have acquired a taste for Belgian types of foods and specific brands, you will be able to track them down in supermarkets around the world. In both UK and Singapore supermarkets we have found Belgian biscuits with nuts, suitable for eating with coffee or topped with cheese.

Belgian Towns In Three Languages
Brussels
Antwerp (nl: Antwerpen; fr: Anvers)
(fr: Bruxelles; nl: Brussel; de: Brüssel)
Bruges (nl: Brugge) (West Flanders)
Essen (Flemish region, Antwerp province)
Ghent (nl: Gent, fr: Gand) (East Flanders)
Liège (nl: Luik)
Mons (nl, de: Bergen) (Hainaut)
Ostend (nl: Oostende; fr/de: Ostende) (West Flanders)
Ypres (nl: Ieper) (West Flanders)

Dates For Your Diary
16 Dec - 17 Dec 2017 Beer Festival in Flanders at Essen, Belgium.

14 Oct - 15 Oct

Jenever Festival, Hasselt ...

18 Oct - 22 Oct

Amsterdam Dance Event ...

28 Oct - 29 Oct

Poperinge beer festival
Dec 2018 Beer Festival in Essen, Flanders, Belgium.

You are so near the border with The Netherlands, that you might as well pop across at least for a coffee.

BELGIUM

FLANDERS

ESSEN

UK Government Advice to travellers
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/festival-travel-checklist

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Cycling in Wales, Welsh signs, Welsh trains, cycling and fly-biking worldwide

Great Western, First Class carriage

Welsh cakes on train. £1.50 for two cakes in packet. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
I had never thought of cycling in Wales. It looks too hilly.

Answers
On the other hand, you get:
lots of exercise
great views from the top,
recover on the easy way down.

Bikes on Trains
Can you take bikes on trains? Yes and no. Arriva trains' website says they can take only two bikes on every train (not much good for a family of four, or group of four friends, fine for a twosome - providing somebody else hasn't booked their bike in first. You must make a booking to be sure of getting a space.

They suggest you make a booking for your bike, which is free. Do that at least 24 hours in advance.

Some days there are only one or two trains a day on some routes if you are making a connection using two trains on a long journey.  Even on a summer Sunday on the Great Western line from Paddington in London to Cardiff, Newport and Swansea in Wales in July 2017, I had only one train after 9 a.m. You also cannot take your bicycle on an Arriva train in peak hours.

Train Tickets
You may hear the announcements that you can upgrade your seat to first class on Great Western. One lady I know chose to do this. She said that the First Class ticket upgrade on one section cost less than £5 and included a voucher for tea or coffee and biscuits from the counter between the first class and the next carriage. You have to allow time to run all the way along the platform to first when boarding. Alternatively, have a backpack or small luggage to walk all the way along the train through the narrow aisle from the other end of the train.

Cycling Worldwide
You can hire cycles in cities in other countries, too. For example: London, England; Bucharest, capital of Romania. You might want to fly-bike, rather than fly-drive.

Luggage / baggage
On a long trip, or going to a special occasion such as a wedding, you might want more luggage at a destination. You can go on a group holiday which has a van to take everybody's luggage to the overnight stop.

For transporting luggage when you are travelling independently, see next post.

Tips
Cycling
http://www.cyclingwales.co.uk/welsh.html
https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/Bicycles/

Luggage
This company's website says that sending luggage can be cheaper than paying airline excess baggage charges.
https://luggagemule.co.uk/
Here are some more websites:
https://www.sendmybag.com/
If you prefer a company whose name you recognize:
https://www.pickfords.co.uk/baggage-ppc/luggage-shipping-service

Story
I've been so long on Welsh websites and writing Welsh words that the automatic spell check suggests that my name should start LLAN!

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages.

Roads, steps and alleys in Singapore

Problem
If you've already taken the major sights, or don't have the time and money to visit, what can you photograph?

Answer
Roads and Alleys.


Tips
A water feature or flight of steps adds interest.Go for anything colourful and step nearer.

Near Cashew station: Uphill walk past the large protective rain tree. I start with a view downhill towards the station. My first thought was to crop the picture and cut out the large expanse of green grass. If you put a finger or thumb over it you can see how it would look. I could create a totally different view, yet the tree fills the screen but is not the centre of attention.

If I were to cut the top of the tree out of the picture, as well as the grass, I would have the cyclist on the right, the sign to the station in the middle, and the approaching car headlights on the right. This picture could be captioned to say something else, not about nature but about transport, cycle or car to the station. The station has a cycle rack but no car park. In England more suburban stations would have car parks.

A picture, it is often said, is worth a thousand words. Instead of 'a picture is worth a thousand words', I would say that 'a picture tells a thousand stories'.

Only a short flight of steps - but oops, what a drop into the drain either side. If I were in charge of health and safety I would insist on a handrail on all steps.

Photos by Angela Lansbury
Copyright
All rights reserved

Making Friends Through Triathlon Training Clubs

Running on your own for a marathon keeps you fit. But if you train with others you can make friends. If you are competing in a triathlon, you might be doing a shorter run, but also swimming and cycling - more of a challenge but more opportunities for making friends who are keen on one or more of these three sports.

Problem
How do you train for a triathlon in another country?
How do you maintain enthusiasm during the weeks or months of training?
How do you make friends when working in a new country?

Answer
You join a triathlon training club in the country where you are living or working.

Story
My friend in London, Olga, originally from Austria, has been training in London for a triathlon, and made friends through the Triathlon club. You don't have to be training to do a triathlon in London, you could be training for a triathlon anywhere in the world.

You can join a club and meet up with others for one of more of the three events you choose. For example, you might be doing swimming. You meet other swimmers and train every morning before work at a local swimming pool.

Or you could be doing cycling as one of your three events.

You make friends in London. They could be platonic friends of the same sex, or the opposite sex. You might even start a romance. Or find a flatmate. (Americans say room mate.)

Tips
Join a triathlon club.

Prepare to pay for equipment.
For example, clothing for swimming: a swimsuit, swim hat, a towel robe, and swim shoes, gym kit bag, padlock.
For cycling: clothing and equipment for cycling: a bicycle, helmet; accessories such as a water bottle holder; cycling clothes.
Plus the fee to enter the event.

Expect to pay about £30 for a certificate giving your time as well as the event.

http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms.asp
http://www.trilondon.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Accommodation, Free and Budget Travel In London, and sandwiches for £1

Somebody on WAYN asked where to stay cheaply near the centre of London for a week.

Bikes?
Decide how you plan to travel, walking, by tube train and bus using a one week travel card, or by borrowed bike from the Santander system.

Travel Directions
Work out two places you wish to visit each day. Mark the nearest tube stations on an underground map. See if they are all within one travel zone. Decide how much you are prepared to pay for a travel zone card. If you are going to pay only for a central London card then you need a hotel further in.

Travel train zones
If you are travelling further, and paying for an all zones card, you can look for accommodation in that zone.

Mark the stations on the edge of the zone (the further out of London the cheaper), then look for hotels or rental places near those stations.

Weekly Rate
Look for a reduction on one week to compare with a daily rate.

Loyalty Cards
If you are going for a hotel chain, check if joining their loyalty scheme gives you a room rate reduction, room upgrade, or free breakfast, or free day's stay if you are in one of their hotels a certain number of days.

More Information
At suburban and central London station you find racks of information leaflets. At big stations like Euston you can pick up a leaflet showing the tube system, also another larger leaflet showing local streets and landmarks. (Useful to find your way to nearby museums, find your way back to the station, find your way back to your hotel.)

Other leaflets include a bike map. This has a handy free map of streets all over central London.

Some lines and stations have faster train times than others. Some central areas are very crowded during rush hour. If your hotel is in central London, if you have an hour to spare, you can pop out and walk about. If you are in a suburb, you may feel more like having an early night or sitting at your phone or computer or the hotel's system (check what wifi is provided) or visit a local pub or coffee bar.

Coffee Loyalty Cards
You could choose an entire system, such as Costa Coffee, or Second Cup. Collect loyalty points for free coffee. You can save money by eating a sandwich on a public bench in an indoor shopping mall (such as Intu in Watford) or in a public park. This is not just a question of coffee shops wanting to discourage people from sitting around hogging seats (which might apply in Italy, where there is sometimes a cover charge for bread - see advice on Italy and systems in different cities in the simple wiki). In Singapore where central branches ask school children not to hog tables doing homework.

In the UK it's a government VAT charge on eating in. So you'll save on that by taking away your coffee and sandwich.

Pubs
You could check a different pub each day. Alternatively, opt for one group.
Wetherspoons pubs vary their food, so one day is curry day, another something else, so you can sample a variety of meals.
Some times of day, usually early, you get special deals.

Cheap Sandwiches
Also check out the £1 sandwiches in Boots (drug store / pharmacy) and Morrisons and Tesco, but they might sell out early.)

Late in the afternoon or early evening you will see more reduced price bargains. Even Tesco Express has a reduced price section in most stores offering sandwiches and other items such as fruit and salads which are on their last day of best by or use by dates.

So there you have it, travel sorted, coffee and drinks sorted, sandwiches sorted.
More Information from:
https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See more by and about Angela Lansbury, author, on other blog posts, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Twitter, Amazon books and Lulu.com self-published print on demand books.

Fitness Holidays: triathlon, swimming, cycling, running or watching

Running, swimming cycling, you can plan to watch an event or participate, so start planning now, or reading about it.

I have friends who plan holidays around events such as the Olympics, winter Olympics, watching ice skating shows, joining in marathons, watching marathons, supporting family in marathons, trekking holidays, triathlons, cycling, swimming and running, and swimming holidays. Yes, swimming holidays.

You can do a triathlon which starts with a swim, continues with a bike ride and ends with a run. You  have set times for each section and the transitions - removing your swimming get only about four minutes. Your cycling clothes underneath are wet but soon dry out, my friend Olga told me.

You can take a swimming holiday swimming from one island to another. On a swimming holiday the swimmers are followed by an escort boat which throws you a bottle of water when you wave your hand. Plus, of course, helping out if you are in difficulty, or bringing you aboard if you've suddenly had enough.

The swimmers are divided into three groups, the fastest, middle group and slowest. As in running, the age groups are usually the divide. Youngsters have more speed and stamina.

In a running marathon the fastest runners start first. You might think they would start last, to give them a penalty or so everybody finishes at the same time. Not so. The fastest start first, so that their way is not an obstacle course with the slower people in front, of whom there will be a larger number, the majority.

In most marathons anybody who completes the course, within a set number of hours, is given a medal recording their achievement. So you get something even if you don't come in the first three, even if you are in the last three. But you cannot turn up days later, after they have packed up and gone home.

People who are planning these events are enthusiasts. They start practising every day weeks in advance. You have to register in advance and will be given advice on what you should be doing.

Maybe this isn't your thing - you are just taking a family beach holiday. Make sure everybody in the family can shout for help in the local language. I read in the newspapers of tragic cases where friends or family or bystanders say we saw them waving but thought they were just having fun, never realised they were in difficulty, caught by a rip tide.

You can practise languages on DuoLingo (I have several previous posts on Duolingo for English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, Welsh, German and other languages.) You can also use google translate for simple phrases such as: I am tired; I need water; I have lost my friends, I have lost my group, where is the boat?

Have a safe and fun holiday.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

What to see and taste in Umbria in Italy

 Umbria in Italy has Orvieto wine and TerreUmbre fruit honey, bicycle holidays, castles and a medieval synagogue, waterfalls, an Etruscan gate and tombs, Perugia, the old historic capital and a temple which Byron visited and described in a poem.

Italy, Umbria and Mountains
Umbria - where is it? The heart of Italy, they say. It is land-locked, an area of mountains and medieval villages in the middle of Italy.

Umbria, I think of a shadow? Like Cumbria, Umbria has mountains. However, you pronounce the name not like English Cumbria and umbrella, more like oo.

Wine and Prosecco
I went to a presentation by the Umbrian tourist board, in London at the Kensington Hotel (see my previous post about the lovely hotel). We started our evening with a glass or more of Prosecco, which put me in a good mood, because I like Prosecco more than Champagne, from France, or Cava from Spain. Prosecco is really popular in England at the moment. I am very happy about that. Prosecco is cheaper and sweeter than other white bubbly drinks.

Wine and Asti
My other favourite Italian sweet white wine is Asti - we used to always see Asti Spumante on food and wine menus, especially Italia restaurant menus. Spumante means sparkling. Nowadays menus more often show just the word Asti, which is the town or city.

But the regional wine, Orvieto, is also well known and liked.

My favourite honey was the Honey with chestnut on the left.  Although the honey with Acacia on the right was also distinctive, and nicer than the honey we usually have at home, it was completely outclassed by the chestnut honey.

Cheese and Chocolate
In the reception room was a table displaying cheeses and salamis and chocolate. (Not a piece of fruit nor vegetable in sight. But I am sure that when you go to Umbria you will get vegetables and fruit.)

I liked the cheese. I passed on the salami. After a member of my family had treatment for cancer, everybody stopped eating preserved meats and went onto fresh meat and lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. Actually, I did try one piece of the salami. It was very tasty.

The chocolate came in wrapped bars of three or four varieties. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, mottled swirling colours of dark and white chocolate, and nutty chocolate for more nutrition and crunch. I couldn't decide which I preferred. So I kept eating more - break off a small oblong of the dark, another piece of the white, let's try the nutty one again - until a member of my family pulled me away.

However, top of my list of foods to try - and try again, was the honey. They had honey flavours I had not seen before. Fruit - at last, fruit flavours.

The honey bottle labels say:
Dolcezze con MIELE al LIMONE
 MIELE alla pera
MIELE alla fragola
MIELE alla MELA VERDE

The honey flavours were delicious. More-ish.

I was about to turn to Google Translate when I noticed the pictures of the fruit on the label.
Limone - lemon
Pera - pear
Fragola - strawberry
Mela verde - green apple.

I got out a magnifying glass and read the label.

Prodotto Italiano - Italian product or produce of Italy.

TerreUmbre is the brand name.
It is made or distributed from Perugia. The label says:
Terre Umbre
Via G Galilei, 59
Corciano
Perugia

www.terreumbre.net
According to the website, they also make or distribute all over the world other products such as chestnuts flavour honey, acacia flour; plus chocolate spread and grappa. The website is in Italian with translation in English (handy if you want to learn Italian) if you click on the English flag you get the English, but it seems to be wholesale, not retail for the public, as there are no prices and they ask you to fax. So you'll have to look for flavoured honey when you visit Umbria.

But what is there to see when you go there?

Perugia
Looking at the literature, the only place name I have heard of, apart from Umbria, is Perugia. Perugia is a lovely old city, not as well known nor flooded with tourists as Florence or Milan or Rome or Venice.

Unfortunately, to the British and American newspaper and internet news reader, the name Perugia will be associated with the murder of a British student. I wondered at the time why students went to Perugia rather than one of the bigger cities. The answer is that Perugia has a well known language school. It specialises in teaching languages and is, as you might expect, good value in terms of the teaching costing you less.

 Another feature of the region is cycling. Throughout our evening, a screen showed a video of individuals and groups cycling through the scenic area, up and down hills, along flat paths, past green fields and mountains, over bridges.

Orvieto
Apart from the wines, and wine cellars carved out by Etruscans, a local food speciality is truffle pasta.

My top visits in the region would be:
Etruscan gate and cemetery
Perugia - many museums, central square and sites
The medieval synagogue.
A castle.
A winery.

You can take foodie tours, organised by a lovely lady who is bilingual.

You are also near enough to visit Assisi.

For more information see
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbria

Tourist board website
https://www.umbriatourism.it

TripAdvisor
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g187907-Activities-Perugia_Province_of_Perugia_Umbria.html

For details of the pagan temple with four pillars, converted into a church, which inspired a few verses which Lord Byron wrote in his long poem Child Harold:
http://www.italianways.com/the-temple-of-clitumnus-a-stream-of-poesy/

Let's Meet In The Heart Of Italy
Incontrarsi Al Centro
www.umbriaconventionbureau.eu
email info@umbriaconventionbureau.eu

Touching History
Nel Vivo Della Storia
www.umbriaculture.eu
email: info@umbriaculture.eu

Walking in the steps of St Francis (of Assisi)
Sulle Orme Di Francesco
www.umbriafrancescosways.eu
email: info@umbriafrancescosways.eu

Cycling With Passion
Con La Bici Nel Cuore
www.umbriabike.eu
email: info@umbriabike.eu

Tasting Pleasure
Fra I Piaceri del Gusto
www.umbriatastes.eu
email: info @umbriatastes.eu

www.umbrialifestye.it

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Illuminated Cycling paths - cycling in the Netherlands, London, England, and Africa

Fit or fat, cycling on holiday is the answer for you. Two of the best places are the Netherlands and London, England. Amsterdam is known for biking. But so is the whole of the Netherlands. Why is The Netherlands so keen on cycling?  Because it's flat.

London, England
London, England, because there are banks of Boris bikes that can be picked up, paid for with a credit card, and dropped off at your destination or any time of day or night when you return. Cycle paths are all over London, not just in the city centre. In the UK I see a cycling club gathering outside Fellini in Hatch End on Sunday mornings.

Netherlands
Todays news is about the glow in the dark cycle path in the Netherlands, copying van Gogh's Starry Nights painting. Turning paths into paintings. Preventing you from getting lost or having accidents in the dark.

UK
Wasn't there a pop song about 'starry, starry nights'? Glow in the dark was not a new idea for roads. We've had cat's eyes, an invention inspired by cat's eyes, down the middle of roads in the UK for years. Reflectors are on posts edging roads, and on the backs of cars and bikes and other vehicles. You can use luminous paint to illuminate your house number to help visitors find you.

Africa
But the glow in the dark paths are the thing of the future, helpful all over the world including African countries.

Is you are simply interested in the technology, without any immediate plans, watch the interesting video on the BBC site.

Before you plan a cycling holiday for yourself, a couple, a group, or friends, you need to think about the cost, or saving, the timing, the routes, your shoes , goggles, and gloves and illuminated jacket for safety and helmets. And maps. Maybe a camera attached to your helmet as evidence in case there's an accident, and for saving the story of your journey as a journal or souvenir or to entertain friends and family.


If you are thinking of hiring a bike for a holiday, e.g. in The Netherlands look at the advice on Tripadvisor.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g188590-d2631766-Reviews-I_Cycle_Holland-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html

I was looking for a photo of the Boris Bike - oops - it's now the Barclays Bike new sponsorship or sale of advertising space I presume.

What's New In The World Travel Market & Holidays and Banksy's Bristol

HOLIDAY DOMAIN NAME
The domain name holidays.com is being auctioned off at this year's World Travel Market in London, England. (I add England because our mail addressed to London was sent to London in Canada after we left the USA and friends and companies over there put London without specifying England.) I imagine people in Paris, Texas, lose a few things, too. Back to the subject of my first sentence, what a memorable domain name. I wonder who will pay the most and win the unforgettable name. When I know I'll tell you in another post.

DLR
  I learned that snippet of information from the Metro which I read on the train on my way to Excel in East London. Also on my journey, I took the Docklands Light Railway. How efficient were the big signs for the show and the orange jacket staff were telling us which platform when we changed trains. Posters proclaimed the fact that most customers were satisfied with DLR (90 per cent) and most of their trains ran on time. (Nearly 99% is the figure I remember.)
 
BRISTOL, BRUNEL, BANKSY
Whilst sitting on the DLR train I chatted to the girl sitting beside me, whose name was Anna, same as my email name. (I'm Angela - but hundreds of other no doubt delightful ladies called Angela had wanted the domain name before the second I hit the grab it now key.) The other Anna, the real Anna was from Bristol, Brunel's Bristol, Bristol, famed for the landmark Suspension Bridge.
  Brunel built the railways, the tunnel under the Thames in London, the railway on from Paddington west to Bristol, and the ship which took travellers on to the USA and brought them back to the old country. I asked her about where you could find stories about Bristol's most famous fictional and real sailors between Bristol and the USA.
  You can still visit the old attractions I saw on my previous visits to cliffside Bristol with its cliffside hotels and restaurants. Last time I saw the inn - nowadays we cal it a pub, associated with RLS and Treasure Island. Another museum honours those prominent families who made money in the slave trade and whose children then abolished the slave trade, and whose great-grandchildren and descendants come back to see the history.
  Bristol's latest accolade is the European city of greenery, first cycling city, and the website will tell you more about famous characters such as Plimsoll of the Plimsoll line, Banksy murals - I'll Tell you more later.
Destination Bristol
PR and Marketing Executive
Anna Slade
53 Queen Square , Bristol BS1 4LH
e:anna.slad@destinationbristol.co.uk
tel:+44 (0)117 9462205
www.visitbristol.co.uk