-
A brisk walk through Montmartre – Paris, 2011
After spending a few days in Madrid and Valencia it was time to come home. Our hotel had been great. The rooftop sun lounge area gave views over the port and out towards the City of Arts and Sciences. My legs were doing ok post marathon and we had discovered a new drink called ‘Frozen…
-
Valencia 2011 – Part 2
In Valencia our hotel was situated right next to the port. Being from the Liverpool City Region we love a good port. It was interesting seeing familiar ships visiting. Our main reason for being here was not to look at the port though. It was to sit on the beach and rest after running the…
-
Valencia – 2011 – Part 1
Our post marathon Spain recovery trip included a few days at a beach in Valencia. Back then I wasn’t much of a beach person but my legs welcomed it so I let them rest. That said, we did 1 bit of exploring which was to go see The City of Arts and Sciences or a…
-
Madrid 2011 – Day 2
Our second day in Madrid was much like the first. Beautiful. Sunny. Warm. Our first stop was Atocha Station. The inside of this iconic train station has been turned into an arboretum. You can still catch a train there but the older part of the station is this wonderfully relaxing calm space to sit and…
-
Spain – Day 1
October 2011 On 9th October 2011 I ran the Liverpool marathon. The first marathon in I think 23 years. My time was 5 hours and 24 minutes. The next day we were on the train to Paris for a Refuges des Fondu special and then to Madrid to relax. In planning this trip I forgot…
-
Paris Day 4
September 2010 Our final full day in Paris. We had a lazy morning, packed and went to Amelie’s cafe for lunch. We’ve been many times and it’s a solid little cafe. Never too busy with tourists. Highly recommend it. Nice to say goodbye to the Montmartre area. After lunch it rained. It rained heavily. Our…
-
Paris – Day 3
September 2010 Day 3 on our week in France began with a trip to see the Eiffel Tower up close. My wife, then girlfriend, took me to this area across the river. Coming out the train station she put her hands over my eyes to guide me round to the viewing spot. I had no…
-
Paris – Day 2
September 2010 (Un)Fortunately our hotel was just down the road from a couple of camera shops. A Leica store and a generic camera shop. This was a great start to the day. I was able to look at real Leica cameras in Paris and hoping that maybe one day I would have one. (Spoiler –…
-
Paris – Day 1
September 2010 My first trip to Paris. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s a city for romantics, passion and love. Would I feel that way? At the time I didn’t feel that but over the years I’ve been visiting the city I have fallen in love with it. I never get bored of walking…