Mrs B and I are thinking about a shortish (4 or 5 day) break in the Spring sunshine either just before or immediately after Easter. Max 3-4 hours flying so Western Med or Canaries sort of distance.
Not ruling out Mainland Spain or the Balearics but we've done them before and wonder about Madeira.
Do those with experience of that part of the world have any views or places worth visitng/to avoid?
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If you’ve never been, Seville is excellent. Very walkable old town with good hotels and easily worth a few days. Airport transfer is also quick.
We’ve been three times in the last ten years.
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Madeira in spring can be a bit iffy weather wise,
Agree re Seville, done it in spring, very nice place indeed. Ditto Granada.
How about Sicily? its in your flying range, weather is quite nice in spring.
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I would have thought the weather might be a bit iffy at that time of year as well.
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I've been in Portugal since late Feb and the temp has been around 16 - 20 most days, with some rain, which is unusually cool & wet for now, but it perks up next week to the low 20s every day so I'd say in a few weeks it ought to be pretty reasonable across southern Spain.
I did Seville a few years back and intend going back sometime. Loads to see and do there. With a car you can also get down to Gibraltar for the day and Cadiz and Jerez is worth a visit, ideally with some one else driving!!
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How about Marakesh or Cassablanca?
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Miss Z and one of her flat mates went to Morocco on a budget self organised holiday in the Spring of 2019.
Said it was fantastic. Apparently treated ever so well by the locals. Had some interactions with the local police, only because they were staying in what would normally be local student digs, out of the main tourist area, reported the interactions as friendly and more curiosity then anything else. Happily pointed out good places to eat, shop, visit etc.
Said it was very cold at night, lovely in the day.
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Friends returned from Morocco two weeks ago. They had a fortnight exploring and walking...great weather.
I visited probably 15 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed my visit...must return sometime.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Sicily and Granada/Seville etc were very mush on our radar, Morocco perhaps a bit less so but in the end we decided to go a bit later, last week in April, to Madeira. Hotel at Santa Cruz; won't be spending too much time watching planes of course...
Booked with Jet2 from STN where the flight times were out morning/back afternoon whereas some others had home landings in the small hours. Stay overnight before and with £100 as the going rate for a hotel a room with a runway view that's sorted too. Parking not too pricy either.
Any suggestions for 'must do' places to visit?
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Afternoon tea on the terrace of Reids Belmont Hotel. (favoured by Churchill) need to book, smart but no tie required.
Jardim Botânico da Madeira
Monte Palace Madeira
Valley of the Nuns
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Palheiro Gardens.
Blandy’s wine lodge in Funchal
A walk in the countryside - take a guided walk.
The market in Funchal. A bit touristy but worth a. Look.
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Certainly The Valley of the Nuns. The whole island's vertiginous! Funchal market, especially the fish market at the back (as long as you can stand the sight of tuna as big as pigs being butchered).
Eat out as much as you can, the food's delicious and fresh. I was told they grow anything and everything on the island. I was surprised to be served sprouts with fish. Stop at any restaurant in Funchal to peruse the menu and you'll be offered a glass of Madeira. We stopped at one and when we said we were thinking of going to another nearby, we were told they were very good and to enjoy our meal, but have a glass of Madeira anyway (you can get sloshed, just perusing menus).
Do at least one levada walk. I managed to talk SWMBO into a very tame one, but she didn't like the narrowness of the path and drop off it (some of them were closed to public access for safety reasons when I was last there).
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Went to Madeira once, must be more than 30 years ago. It felt like there were a lot of old people there, but maybe that has changed. Anyway, I’m old now so perhaps it’d suit me better these days. Didn’t especially enjoy it then. Not much in the way of beaches as I recall.
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Yes it does have a more mature profile as they say with no natural beaches. Funchal however iis a beautiful town to spend some time in and the countryside is superb for walking. Actually now very popular with mountain bikers.
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Anyway, I’m old
>> now so perhaps it’d suit me better these days.
Dont take your bike, the hills will make you feel old, knackered and inadequate.
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>> Dont take your bike, the hills will make you feel old, knackered and inadequate.
I’m already there in the Welsh mountains I’m afraid! ;-)
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>> Dont take your bike, the hills will make you feel old, knackered and inadequate.
>>
And Runfer will fall off.
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… just remembered, I had a hired beige Seat Marbella (like a Mk1 Panda but worse) while I was there. It wasn’t the best car for those mountain roads. About 750cc I think.
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>> … just remembered, I had a hired beige Seat Marbella (like a Mk1 Panda but
>> worse) while I was there. It wasn’t the best car for those mountain roads. About
>> 750cc I think.
I had a knackered Mk2 Renault clio, Love the smell of burning clutch.
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Having said the above, I got within a minute of my pre-accident circuit time yesterday on a 22mile off road jaunt on the bike. I had been way off the pace for a long while.
I suppose it helps a bit as I still can’t use the back brake very well! ;-)
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I have just spent four weeks on the Canary island of La Palma. We hired a basic Panda which actually managed the mountains quite well although had a horrible gearbox. They have built a new temporary dirt road over the lava field from the 2021 eruption and that was an interesting experience to drive. You are not allowed to stop and road is still hot ,50C , apparently. They regularly spray it with water to cool it.
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I suppose it’s a way of turning a Panda into a hot hatch? ;-)
I like Pandas.
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Went to Taormina, Etna threw up all over the car (Fiat 500) covering it in ash. The local entrepreneurs (Mafia) were doing a courtesy (expensive & mandatory) wash service on return to your car.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 20 Mar 23 at 09:41
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There’s some YouTube footage somewhere of a guy riding a mountain bike down a Levada.
Parts of it seem ill advised at best. Might try to find that for you Bromp!
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>> There’s some YouTube footage somewhere of a guy riding a mountain bike down a Levada.
>>
>> Parts of it seem ill advised at best. Might try to find that for you
>> Bromp!
At your age, a wheel-less glorified bath chair is more your scene
www.youtube.com/watch?v=02CSoajJ74I&ab_channel=mccdamo
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I’ll bow to your greater experience in matters of interest to the aged! ;-)
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Your membership to the club was already agreed and granted the moment you became crippled after the last major spill.
The "I'll never join any club that will have me as a member" retort, does not apply in this case.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 20 Mar 23 at 10:40
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This is one of those moments when I am minded to regret that I can now only make a V sign with one hand!
;-)
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Think of it as a right of passage into the period of your life where you can legitimately and expectedly behave disgracefully.
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Might have started that a bit early…
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A mixed group of us had a weeks B & B in a hotel several years ago, within walking distance of Funchal.
I remember an interesting bus journey to the north of the island, some levada walking, odd days sleeping by the pool after very late nights, great food sat outside different restaurants every night and a local bar we called ‘the green room’.
And some large liners disgorging passengers of a certain age...we avoided Funchal when they were berthed.
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>> And some large liners disgorging passengers of a certain age...we avoided Funchal when they were
>> berthed.
>>
And now you are of "a certain age".
Heavy sigh.
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Yup, got to that age, been there, done that, been one of the disgorged,
Tho TBF, I did do the island twice before independently.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 20 Mar 23 at 13:00
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Just to help me in my preparation/transition to retirement, are the elastic waisted trousers and horizontally striped polo shirts compulsory, and if so, where can they be sourced please?
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Marks and Spencer would be your first port of call.
Dont forget the nylon zip up wind cheater.
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Is there a colour protocol for those? Or is it just beige?
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No blues and greys are allowed. Here is your new fashion guru goto page
www.chums.co.uk/menswear
(looks like you already feature as a model)
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>> (looks like you already feature as a model)
Some of us, of course, are almost fully kitted out in Jack Wolfskin stuff for casual, but as a MAMIL I guess thats off your radar. Stick with chums, you'll be fine
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Oh ok thanks, I tend to favour Timberland/Columbia/North Face mainly, but I do want to fit in and be taken seriously at the Honda dealership when I go to see about the Jazz.
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>> Oh ok thanks, I tend to favour Timberland/Columbia/North Face mainly, but I do want to
>> fit in and be taken seriously at the Honda dealership when I go to see
>> about the Jazz.
Ah, problem there. The Jazz is now a big grown up car that the chums collection peeps disapprove of.
You'll need to visit the Toyota dealer and head for the Yaris section. (keep away from the Grrrr section tho, thats not for your generation)
Those of us in the know of course, wriggle into our Armani* jeans trott along to the BMW dealer, and smear blue dye over the cream leather seats, before leaving and saying "no its a lexus for me"
*bought at discount at Costco
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 20 Mar 23 at 15:41
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Ah well, with jeans, I’m currently more of a Replay sort of chap, but y’know, I’m prepared to go with the flow.
So much to learn isn’t there?
I guess I shouldn’t beat myself up too much about it though, you’ve had so much longer to gain all this insight.
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Had the misfortune of going shopping with my missus on Saturday to buy something designer as a birthday gift for a friend.
Oh. My. God.
There are so many gullible people out there.
£175 for a Polo Shirt, £300 for a normal casual shirt etc.
Quality not any better than an equivalent at £30 from a high street shop.
Would be interested to know if somewhere like Barbour or Polo or Lacoste produce their goods in different environments than the “sweatshops” of lower priced items?
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>> You'll need to visit the Toyota dealer and head for the Yaris section. (keep away
>> from the Grrrr section tho, thats not for your generation)
And I’m the exception that proves the rule...
Picked up a friend yesterday en route to a big day out in the Lakes...almost 4k ft of ascent. He wasn’t impressed by the tiny boot.
I probably don’t wear clothing suitable for my age....although I only possess one hoodie, a 320 weight Icebreaker for when it’s bitterly cold. Mammut walking trousers, Hoka trail shoes (Stinson & Challengers) Levi 511s, Loakes and Barker shoes, La Sportiva TX Hike Mid GTX boots ( I’m not a Timberland fan) and JL white tees. PHD design jacket for everyday use in winter.
And I no longer own a suit. Or hooped polo shirts, briefs, and fancy socks.
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>> … just remembered, I had a hired beige Seat Marbella (like a Mk1 Panda but
>> worse) while I was there. It wasn’t the best car for those mountain roads. About
>> 750cc I think.
I hired a little Fiat 500. The onlytime I've been on a motorway quality road having to use third up a hill. The island is only 20Km by 50Km and 2Km high in the middle.
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Yup its a 1 in 10 from wherever you start o wherever you finish
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La Palma is even steeper. The Space observatory is 2426 metres above sea level. It quite a drive although the Panda made it fine.
Only time I got in fourth gear in four weeks was in the tunnel that cuts through the mountain
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Not long back from a week in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote.
First time in Lanza. Really enjoyed it, had a lovely Villa with heated pool, hot tub, pool table, table Football etc etc etc.
Had a week of excellent sunshine. Thankfully. The previous week had been overcast all week with some sandstorms!
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Quite like Lanzarote but I avoid the resorts. Normally stay in the North away from the all day breakfasts and Irish bars. There are some nice restaurants in Playa Blanca though.
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Our Villa was about a mile back from the sea so best of both worlds. To be fair the resort itself, the promenade etc want to busy and was nothing like a Las Americas type place.
Was away with sister and spouse and brother and spouse. First time I have been away with my brother and sister together for about 40 years! Worked out great.
We had agreed on rules though. We all did our own thing during the day, if they coincided with someone else then fair enough but no need for any couples to feel obliged to join in with something if they had other plans.
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Now on 6th night of 7, back home on Friday.
Other than scrap with Goldcar over the supposed inferior performance of an imaginary 1.0 litre Citroen C4 all is great.
Hotel is part of a chain, Vila Gale. Architecturally etc very like Spanish places I stayed 40+ years; Marble floors, atrium/mezzanine around reception etc. Nice room with view of the sea and the final approach to the airport.
Very few UK visitors; most are German with a few French etc.
Breakfast and Dinner are buffets but with a good variety of well presented food. Missed a trick by booking as B&B only where half board was available for a modest supplement. Not been on a package holiday like this other than aeons ago as a kid so just have to chalk it down to experience. Wine etc, OTOH is dead cheap - a small beer can be had for One Euro.
Been out in the car pretty much everyday. The main roads are incredibly built with huge sections, up to 4km, in tunnels. On Sunday we were diverted off a main(ish) road on the east cost and got a bit lost in the hills but not too much sweat. Can see though why those with less experience an/or of a nervous disposition look at us as though we're mad for being happy driving.
Done a few of the recommended stuff including the Valley of the Nuns. Not worth the effort of actually driving in for a street of Grockle shops but the view from the valley rim is incredible.
Today we did the gardens, both the Jardim Botânico and the Monte up the Teleferico. Good although the latter was a bit pricy.
The car, for the record, climbs hills like a homesick Angel. With the same horsepower, but perhaps less torque, as our Berlingo or my old Xantia and with two of us and no bagage it bloomin well should.
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Spring Break in Sun - martin aston
