Category: Travel

It was meant to be an eight-day trip but I had to shorten it to five days because everything was closing down – better safe and back home than stranded in a far away place for many weeks. Even on my first round-the-world trip I had to rearrange flight destinations because of a disease outbreak – some would say more of a first-world or more accurately a middle class problem.

You don’t need much to travel: a small hand-luggage rucksack

and add some healthy walking legs.

I saw a few doors and some local architecture,

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and enjoyed two days of diving in very salty sea water with occasional swarms of jellyfish all swimming in random directions

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before everything closed down because of the global pandemic Corona virus.

It was a risk but I needed the break! Unfortunately Skype is blocked in Oman which isn’t that helpful when trying to call UK telephone support numbers for changing flight dates – there are always new challenges and problems to work around. The technical solution may be to use a VPN.

Keep travelling – but not at the moment!

How can you forget Albania’s national flag!

A weekend in Tirana, where the prices are about a third of London’s for food, accommodation and even less for a haircut. The big western brands have not taken over the city centre yet as it is less than twenty years since communism ended. An enjoyable stroll around the square. Traditional food: peppers stuffed with rice. A contrast is as good as a rest.

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I am spoilt with an office view from a shiny glass building in London but a change of scenery is still needed. Why not the old city of Valletta in Malta? A long weekend is not enough time to explore the whole country.

I bought some carob syrup just because it is something new! The climate so far south is comfortably pleasant – I believe OK until the end of November. You pay a premium to stay so close to the centre but for a short period it is worth being near the action.

A weekend drive to explore a new place is a typical middle-class activity in the UK. I discovered some of the Norfolk coast via Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Cromer. Traditional fish and chips and a Full English Breakfast are almost mandatory. A heat wave and reasonable traffic made it a pleasant long Bank Holiday break.

Walking on marble paving stones I admired the old town

and later spotted a cat drinking from a fountain

If I were to analyse what I do on a weekend break in Europe it is this: I look for a place to have breakfast, wander about streets with interesting historical architecture, look for a place for lunch and then continue to look at anything interesting in my path before dinner in a place that locals regard as authentic. My recent visit to Porto can be described like this and I managed to take home some Pastel de Nata too.