We learned that Vivienne and Nigel were travelling to Cornwall and, being the scroungers that we are, invited ourselves over to stay with them. Nigel’s family home is in the village of Cadgwith in the south of Cornwall, close to the Lizard…
Saturdays in Dublin
Each weekend we try to see a new part of Dublin or revisit somewhere we have been before but want to see again. So this post shows what we have done on the previous two Saturdays – nothing dramatic, but…
Tuscany – Montecatini Alto
While in Tuscany, we stayed in a town called Montecatini Terme, usually just referred to as Montecatini (Terme meaning Spa, as it has hot springs). Close by, and high on a hill, is the medieval village of Montecatini Alto (Alto,…
Tuscany – Lucca
We spent an interesting afternoon wandering around Lucca, this very ancient city with its roots in Etruscan times although the street layout dates only (!) from Roman times, about 180 BC. Curiously, an early 6th century Bishop of Lucca was…
Tuscany – Pisa
Yes, we’ve seen the tower. And it leans. Quite a bit. So what was next? Luckily for us, alongside the Tower was a magnificent cathedral and a separate circular Baptistery, sheathed in marble and…
Tuscany – the Craic
Well, there we were on a tour of Tuscany – two kiwis plus 36 Irish people. As I think I mentioned earlier, we all ate together and of course on several days of the 8-day holiday we were on all-day…
Tuscany – Cinque Terre and Portovenere tour
On day 3 of our trip we took advantage of an optional extra tour to the Cinque Terre villages, also known as the Italian Riviera. Strictly speaking, we are no longer in Tuscany but in Liguria. We journeyed by bus through…
Tuscany – Florence
Piazza and Basilica of Santa Croce We have just returned from 8 days in Tuscany. It was a really good break and we stayed for the week in Montecatini, a spa town central to Florence, Pisa and Siena. It was…
Reflections on a year in Ireland
WARNING: a very long blog!! Exactly a year ago I left the known and familiar in New Zealand and flew alone around the world to start my new position as a Teaching and Learning Developer at Dublin City University. Bruce…
Trim
Trim is a small town on the river Boyne, containing the ruins of the largest Norman castle in Ireland. The weather looked fine last Saturday so we decided to take the bus to Trim. Public transport is excellent in Ireland…