After the long flight from Australia, we took a few nights in London to relax. London is such an amazing place though, that we had to get out and wander a bit!

Borough Markets are BRILLIANT! They are colourful, vibrant and so alive! All the food smells are guaranteed to give you an appetite! There has been a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built in the 1850s, and today the market mainly sells speciality foods to the general public.

We actually visited this historic town TWICE, and loved it both times! Harwich was the Home Port for The Mayflower which sailed for the Americas. There is so much history in this town, much of it untouched.

Some nice exhibits, and it was interesting enough, but sadly not much of the original castle remains. But a day out to anywhere with Cousins Jeanette and Colin is worthwhile 🙂

Next stop was a B&B in a really quaint little Essex town called Battlesbridge, famous for their Antique stores!

Cousins Colin and Jeanette took us to Clacton Pier – Fabulous! The Pier is a real piece of the England of my youth, it brought back a lot of memories.

Home of world-famous Maldon Salt – and what a lovely spot! I remember coming here as a young lad to look at a yacht my Dad was thinking of buying – to sail to Australia!!

My Mum had been telling us about this little town for ages, so we had to go and take a look. It’s not the easiest to get to, but worth the bother if you want to step back in time a hundred years or so!

When we were looking for an overnight near Oxford (to visit with Cousin Neil) we came across the Cherry Tree Inn. Who could pass that by?

Beaulieu is a beautiful estate nestled in the stunning New Forest in Hampshire. The old Manor and Abbey have been well maintained, and are really worth a visit.

The Beaulieu Estate houses the National Motor Museum, which has some spectacular vehicles on display. The museum is modern, (mostly) well lit, and easy to get around. You need a full day here! One of the photos I took in the Museum somehow made its' way onto the Museum search link on Google, and has received 5.7 Million views as at the end of 2023!

One of the main attractions in Beaulieu is the World of Top Gear display, which houses almost every vehicle used on the TV show, including the Toyota Hilux and the XJ-S Railcar!

Known as the Capital of the New Forest, Lyndhurst is a stunningly beautiful town with a long and fascinating history.

In the quaint little village of Lyndhurst unexpectedly sits a Ferrari Dealership! Somebody around here must have a few quid!

I’ve long wanted to visit the magical Isle of Wight, and it was worth the wait – what a fantastic and beautiful place!

Brooklands is almost a myth in the minds of many motor racing fans, so when the opportunity arose to pay a visit – of course I went! And it was good! Very good.

We hadn't really heard much about Porto, so it was a very pleasant surprise. Lots of fantastic buildings and places to eat.

Originally we had planned to catch a fast train from Porto to Lisbon, but then I heard of a highly regarded Car Museum roughly halfway between the two, called Caramulo. Well, on the map it looked simple enough, but it appeared the only way to get there was by car (which should have rung a few alarm bells to start with!). Plans were changed, a car was booked, and we would instead take the whole day driving from Porto to Lisbon via Caramulo where we would stop for our museum visit. Just getting our hands on the car was the first hurdle.. Europcar were incredibly inefficient, and the queue was enormous and moved slowly. After declining their kind offer of an old beatup Kia, we drove off in a new Fiat 500 (which was great fun!). The motorways in Portugal are great, but dotted with toll booths (which we later found cost us a total of 95 Euros!). Google Maps turned us off the motorway eventually, and the roads got progressively narrower and poorer, to where we were driving on goat tracks! We found the museum, tucked away in a small village way up in the mountains, and went in. The staff were completely uninterested, which was disappointing, but I was at least left alone to take pictures in what turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax. All in all, I wish we’d taken the train and had an extra afternoon in Lisbon! But I did like that little Fiat. And there were some nice exhibits, it’s a shame they weren’t displayed better.

Lisbon was a bit of a surprise. The weather had improved, and we found ourselves darting all over the city exploring its’ delights. The food, the people, the architecture, the whole culture and atmosphere was just sensational, and we loved it! The underground was a bit of a challenge the first couple of times, but once mastered it’s really easy to get around. Awesome place!

A romantic dream has been turned into a fairytale castle. Unbelievable. Expect a long walk, or grab a taxi-cab to the top!

Cascais is gorgeous! Now a fishing town, Cascais was formerly the summer residence and playground of the rich and famous!

Our Day Trip took us to the historic region of Colares, which can boast having the most Western point of Europe!

Next stop was the medieval city of Sintra – Absolutely fascinating and delightful!

After joining (our first) bus tour in Lisbon, our first stop was a very old township – the UNESCO World Heritage listed Caceres – where we walked around the old city and got wet.

Our second visit to Sevilla, and it was just as charming and beautiful as we remembered. Probably one of the prettiest cities in the world.

It was a beautiful afternoon, and I wanted a sit down so we hopped on a river boat!

Used for several Game of Thrones sets (fifth season), the Alcazar was the reason we went to Sevilla the first time, and we loved it all over again the second!

Walking around Sevilla brings a constant stream of photographic opportunities. Such a beautiful place.

The township of Cordoba can trace its’ heritage back past Roman times, and still retains much Moorish influence. We spent some time in the amazing Mezquita Cathedral, originally a Mosque, now a Cathedral – and very beautiful.

I hadn’t heard of Ronda (unless that was what the Beach Boys were singing about?), but the drive there was very pretty!

Another ancient settlement, Ronda is perched on the edge of a huge ravine – and the views are spectacular!

The oldest Bullring in Spain constructed solely in stone, the Plaza de Toros must be an amazing place when an event is in progress. The stadium seats only 5,000 people (one of the smallest capacities in Spain) but the ring itself is the largest.

Back in the Bus and we’re off to famed Marbella, playground of the Rich and Famous!

Fabulous Marbella! Home of the Rich and Famous! And half of the population of the U.K., it seemed.. We didn’t get a lot of time to look around, but did manage to spend a delightful evening with long-lost relative Tina!

Back on the road again, travelling through some more pretty countryside on the way to Granada.

Alhambra is an amazing place, an ancient fortress which has been very well maintained to give a glimpse of days gone. Our experience was spoilt by a very average guide who seemed completely uninterested in doing her job. And it rained. Again.

A short drive from Alhambra, and we had an afternoon and overnight in Granada, which turned out to be quite interesting and pretty. And it rained.

We should have known better, but let ourselves get talked into going to a little nightclub that featured genuine gypsy dancers. To be fair, the dancers gave it 100%, and it didn’t turn into a hostage situation where we had to pay to get out or anything – but an early night would have been nicer 🙂

After the Gypsy Dancers we were taken up into the hills above Granada in a rattly little bus along narrow cobblestone lanes. We thought we were being taken somewhere to be murdered and our bodies dumped. But it only rained. And was cold! And we couldn’t really see much. Apart from that it was lovely!

Next morning we were back on the bus, and heading for Central Spain, the Imperial City of Toledo.

Our last stop in Spain, the City of Toledo, where we were treated to another tour of a Medieval town and fortress.

When we (gratefully) arrived at our Hotel in Sliema, it turned out to be really nice, helpful and friendly staff, and was just a few minutes walk (down a steep hill!) to the harbour of Sliema, which would be the base for our adventures around Malta!

Across the bay from Sliema is the beautiful, vibrant city of Valetta! You can take the Ferry (about 15 minutes) or the Bus - about 2 hours. We got to know the Ferry very well!

A Catholic Military Order devoted to caring for the sick, poor and injured, they inhabited this wonderful old building!

As the most-bombed area in World War II, the Maltese have a bit of a fascination with the war, and built this museum to display their artefacts.

We walked through Bugibba Bay on our way to the Car Museum. VERY pretty!

My last Museum visit for the holiday 🙁 But it was a beauty.. A really nice little private collection, very well laid out with some very nice cars!

Floriana is a fortified town just outside of Valetta!

We took a day cruise over to Gozo, which is a very cool island off Malta.. Beautiful place! The boat ride from Sliema included swinging past other islands with some fantastic caves and grottos!

We had a great day on Gozo. Our guide was a real character, and had us in fits at times. He was also very knowledgeable, and took us to some great places! Many scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed on Gozo - which can you spot?

Another fairytale setting, the Blue Lagoon is a breathtaking spot! Unfortunately we weren't given the opportunity to explore the rest of the island (Comino) but it looked amazing!

We'd heard a bit about Mosta and the story of the church with the unexploded bomb! The Church (called the Rotunda) is just stunning, and boasts one of the worlds' largest unsupported domes. During WWI (when Malta was subjected to a massive bombing campaign by the Nazis) the church was full of people seeking refuge - and a bomb came in through the roof, hitting the floor and not exploding! There is a replica of the Bomb in the church, and the climb up to the walkway around the dome is very satisfying, providing magnificent views of the area.

We heard from several locals that we should visit the fishing village of Marsaxlokk. So off we went! Another Bus adventure later, and we were free to wander around and take in the colourful sights. The local Ice Cream is great!

Used for numerous scenes in Game of Thrones, we had to visit Rabat! And it was definitely worth the bother, an amazing place to finish our trip!