Making a brief sojourn back into Germany, this time to see Cologne (or Koln as the Germans spell it). We had intended to visit Cologne a couple of years ago but never made it, so this year we're making the effort. The first thing that strikes you about Cologne is that despite it being an ancient city (founded in approx 38BC), its architecture is more modern than most other old cities, probably due to the fact it was one of the most heavily bombed German cities d...

Spent the previous two days visiting Ghent, Belgium. Managed to rent a superb apartment on the fringes of the city center. The owner, Serge, had bought an old warehouse which he has converted into a large living space for himself and his wife Gina, as well as a conference facility, and a one bedroom apartment which we had. Industrial chic is the best way to describe it. Some of the old walls and beams have been retained, around which he has constructed an apartme...

We left Padstow to drive all the way across to the other side of the UK. Stopped for the night at the small village of Detling, which gives us a short drive of 60km into Dover tomorrow. It’s been a whirlwind trip to the UK, the weather has been less than conducive to sightseeing, but nevertheless we’ve enjoyed it immensely. We’ve revisited some favourites, found some new ones, and managed to avoid the worst of the weather. All in all, a reasona...

At last, as far west as we are going - Padstow. We headed down to Newquay first for a bit of a look before heading back up to Padstow. However there didn't appear to anything of interest there so we didn't bother stopping. The drive up to Padstow was quite spectacular. Cornwall is everything we imagined it to be. Even with the sun shining there is an air of wildness which permeates the rugged coastline and the windswept farmlands.The road will be traversing a fl...

On to Torquay. Nothing much to say about Torquay. A largish seaside town set in a rugged coastline. Didn't get to see much of it as we are only stopping over on our way to Cornwall. Seems like a nice enough place. Probably not enough here to warrant a return visit.