Waiting to Fly

The taxi was early picking us up so we were at Heathrow with what, at best, could be described as plenty of time.  We are waiting for the clock to tick by toward boarding time.  Little choice but to nurse a glass of wine - and there is a nice single vineyard Pinot Noir from Chile to practice in advance of the local vino over the next weeks!  Ingrid is playing on her iPad with a glass of fizz within reach - all in all not too much of a hardship!

Golfing and Lounging

On each of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, we have played golf. Days 1 and 3 on the same course, Golf du Soleil; Day 2 on a next door course, Golf les Dunes.  The latter course is not as good.  The weather on the first two days was very warm - about 36 degrees in the shade.  The first afternoon, we lounged by the pool afterwards - reading and rehydrating!  None of us drank enough on the first round - it seems that you need to take on board nearly 2 litres to stay in reasonable shape.  Today, Wednesday, it a little cooler and the beginnings of a sand storm is blowing in.  Fortunately, this started after we finished golf.  Yesterday afternoon, we did a short tour of the City - the marina, the port, the kasbah and the souk - so we have been away from the hotel and golf course cocoon.  All in all, the hotel is good with a decent variety of food and the Moroccan wine is perfectly drinkable - perhaps too much so!

Arrival in Agadir

After an interesting ride from Marrakech through the countryside and some of the smaller foothills of the Atlas range, we arrived in Agadir.  The hotel does not look much from the front but the room is fine and the facilities will be perfectly okay for us.  We had a quick drink and then a walk along the beach.  It is mid 20's centigrade so plenty warm enough.  The hotel has three restaurants - we were in the main, buffet style offering today.  A good selection washed down with local wine. Altogether a good start to our break. Golf in the morning will test whether all of the facilities are up to scratch!

A bit of culture

Today we decided to do the culture thing with the main event, a visit to the Doges Palace (photos 1,2 & 3).....amazing - some of the biggest and most ornate rooms we have ever seen. The tour included a visit to the old prison, accessed by walking across the Bridge of Sighs (photo 4) - so have done the inside and outside of that one!) We also visited the Manet exhibition that was on at the Palace (not necessarily Ingrid's cup of tea but she's glad she did it)
After lunch in a square, we visited St Michele, (photo 5) a whole island that is a cemetery, strange but it had to be done! Also went to S. Giorgio island to visit the Cathedral (photo 6 & 7)- again, amazing that a city can have SO many churches and Cathedrals.
Went the long way back round the islands on the water bus (sneaky photo of one stop just for Grandad, no. 8) to our hotel, packing and a last dinner tonight before home tomorrow.

Verona

Today we decided to catch the train and spend a day in Verona. Once again we were blessed with lots of sun and temperatures in the mid 20s.
After a drink, sitting outside on one of the squares we saw the main Arena/Amphitheatre. Built in the 1st century and still hosting big concerts today (photos 1&2)
First church of the day was S. Fermo (photo 3) then onto Juliet's house to see the famous balcony (photo 4)
Next came Plazza dei Signori (photo 5), S. Anastasia church (photo 6) and the Arche Scaligere (photo 7)
We then had a BIG climb up past the roman castle, to Castel S. Pedro for some magnificent views over the city (photo 8)
Back down the hill to the Duomo (photo 9, 10 (old bit) & 11 (new altar))...feet beginning to ache now!
Finally on to Castelvecchio (photo 12 & 13) before a slow walk back to the station and a welcome sit on the train back to Venice (taking the opportunity to write this on the way!)

Loved Verona, loving the sun too and the feet won't be tired after a few glasses of wine tonight!

Island hopping

Today we have done a tour of some of the islands....
1 & 2.....Murano, famous for it's glass.
3 & 4..... Burano, for it's lace and colourful houses and
5.......Torcello, for it's church and bell tower (it doesn't have anything else (literally))
6...... Coolest ambulance ever

And all done in glorious sunshine :-)

Venice

We arrived to lots of water, but rather than the stuff in the canals it was coming from the sky. It didn't stop us exploring but we did get rather wet!
Day 2 brought lovely sunshine and we had a great day seeing the city on foot and by water bus. We had a guide for a couple of hours, giving us lots of information and some of the sights off the beaten track......
The Grand Canal in the rain
One for the many, many churches
The Doges Palace
The Gondola shipyard
St Mark's Square