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With just a couple of rainy days left in Pula, Croatia before we leave, what better thing to do than to catch the local bus to two more medieval hill top towns to walk even more narrow cobble stone streets in the heat.
That done, we said our goodbyes to Croatia and took off for England. Picking up a car in Stanstead, we drove 5 hours up to Scarborough, where there is an ideal site to see Puffins, along with a host of other migratory sea birds. And see them we did, through the sea mist, fog and rain.
The rookeries are on the Bempton Cliffs, a truly spectacular part of the coast. Shear cliff faces of white stone, where 1,000s of birds were nesting on the smallest of ledges, with even more flying out to sea and back again, to feed their young. The noise, smell and sheer number was amazing.
Although the Puffins were initially hard to spot amongst all of the other birds, once we were able to distinguish their particular flying pattern and preferred roosting sites, they seemed to be everywhere.
We had two nights in Scarborough, so what better way to finish off our visit to North Yorkshire than to find a country pub to have dinner. More success in that area, old pubs, great food and then it was time to head back down south to Heathrow.
The trip down wasn’t entirely plain sailing, not that we expected it to be as we decided to avoid the motorways and take minor roads down through Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex to see a bit of the country. Everything seemed fine, except the weather which was foggy and light rain, until the GPS lost its voice. Visual maps on the screen but no audio, not even the radio. You don’t realise how much you rely on “the voice” telling you which lane to be in as you enter roundabouts and which exits to take, nanoseconds before it’s too late.
Multiple stops to try to get back on the air, button pressing, turning off the engine hoping that the computer would reboot, finally resorting to “restoring factory settings”. Not being fluent in French, ( we were in a Citroen ) which wasn’t really a problem because we didn’t have audio, but the GPS was confined to maps in France. We overcame that challenge and got back into the UK maps. But, with one voice gone, there was another to take her place, except this one’s vocabulary seemed to be confined to phrases like, “you should have turned there” and “this is the wrong road” and “I don’t know where we are”.
Pulling off the road, we called Avis 24 hour emergency assist (for all your customer needs) who put us through to a Citroen centre, who in turn told us that our problem did not constitute a breakdown and to just drive safely.
Google maps on the iPhone was no use because we were rapidly loosing battery charge and if I plugged it into the car USB port, it too lost audio. No Apple Car Play, so it was not entirely optimal.
So in desperation, and with some element of frustration we headed into the next town for a coffee break to calm the collective nerves, hoping to salvage something from the rapidly deteriorating relationship. While Jean went to find the parking ticket machine and by now, the other essential service facility, I was left alone in the car and spent the time pressing every button I could find when suddenly the radio burst into life and we were back on the air, and talking to each other as well.
As it always does, it all turned out OK in the end and we found our bed for the night, another out of the way country pub, timber beams and low ceilings.
Not content to stay put, we ventured out into the wilds to catch up with friends for dinner, this time in a 600 year old pub miles from anywhere. English beer, house red and a rib eye steak and mushroom ( singular) and a lot of laughs, especially as Australia has just beaten the Poms in the first One Day international World Cup series. That together with the impending election of Boris Johnson as PM and Brexit, I think Australia won the night.
Now, today it’s a short drive to Stanstead to return the car, bus to Heathrow, overnight there and then our final leg home tomorrow. So there’s just one more thing to sort out and that’s where we are going to eat tonight. The airport hotel was out of the question and there is nothing in Terminal 5 that’s edible, but Jean’s pre-trip research delivers in the form of another pub, the White Horse. Just 3 mins from the terminal in a free bus and we are in a pub built in 1534, and still going strong. The food was excellent and the beer, well, it was English. Definitely the go to dinner place when next overnighting in Heathrow.
Footnotes:
The authorities are fairly tough on the Motorway. We saw the following signs all within a 100m stretch: “No stopping...Do not stop here....You will be removed....Crematorium”. No second chances here.
And this one in an area of road works, presumably to inform us of the material being used to repair the road. “Cyclist In Road”.
So it’s the end of another European Adventure. We met some great people along the way who showed us their generosity of spirit and kindness and who in many ways made the holiday. There were some funny situations, really enjoyable days and days of cycling along quoted back roads, despite the occasional challenge, and the ever changing landscapes that no amount of photos could ever adequately capture.
Ancient olive trees, grapes vines that stretched from horizon to horizon, cherry trees by the roadside laden with ripe fruit, spectacular coast lines with turquoise waters. And at every stop, the most fantastic food; fish, mussels, cuttlefish, squid, vine ripened tomatoes that exploded with flavour, fresh house made pasta, and not to forget the pastries and the coffee.
The one takeaway tip of the trip: When next in Italy, find the nearest Martinucci store. The selection of pastries and cakes are really something else again.
- comments
Christine Coles If this is your last blog Richard I am very sad ☹️. It has been a delight sitting in our sun room at home, in comfort with the heater set on High and reading about your wonderful adventures ! Start planning your next trip NOW !! See you soon on your return home I hope !! XX from Chris and John too