The Yorkshire Dales conjure images of lush green valleys, rolling hills, ancient drystone walls and sheep. So on my recent trip up to York, I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to visit the area. With not much time, I booked myself on a day trip and although the day was cold for June and drizzly, I was assured that this was normal for these parts. Aye up then, off we went. Located in North Yorkshire, it's only about an hour or so away from York. Soon we had left the city behind and entered those lush green valleys. 

All the times I've visited Portugal, and I was yet to go see a Fado show. Time to remedy that. After a fabulous Bites and Banter tour visiting the Bolhao Market with our guide Sean (from Singapore), I arranged to meet 4 of my fellow tour attendees (from the UK) whose hotel happened to be opposite mine. Small world. They just happened to have booked a show close, by so I tagged along. 

Who knew that York is the chocolate capital of the UK? Not me. But it is. Always learning new things.

What else to do in York? Visit Betty's Tea Rooms of course. I actually learnt that the original is in Harrogate when a Swiss baker, Fritz Bützer, moved to England in 1907, where he married his landlady’s daughter and opened his first tea room. 

I do love a ghost tour. Am I believer? Yes, I think there may be something out there. But I just find them interesting and a bit of fun. With a few days off and trying to visit a bit more of the UK, it was time to head up to York and check out the "spooky" side of the city. 

Not something on the original list, but when a weekend away in Exeter was suggested, I spotted this and thought, yep I want to do that. Exeter is in Devon and sits on the River Exe. Fiona recently reminded me that we went there 32 years ago with Cindy. Vague memories of going to Torquey, no memory of visiting Exeter. Alcohol may have been involved.

Following on from my adventures on the Douro, my few days in Porto gave me time to go visit Fatima. I'm not religious, I don't necessarily believe in miracles, but the world is crazy these days, so everyone need to have something to believe in. So on this particular day, I jumped on yet another bus and headed off to Fatima. Sadly, this time round our tour guide was rubbish and there were no fun Americans to get drunk with (now there is a sentence I didn't think I would be writing).

When I wrote this one down, I imagined myself floating down the Douro River on a fancy schmancy river boat for 7 days of good food and lots of wine. Slight hiccup - the bank balance said no. Plan B, a day trip to the Douro Valley, short river cruise included.

On our Highlights of Northern Spain tour, we drive past the turn off to Guernica and many guests ask if we're stopping there. The fact that so many had heard of Guernica at first surprised me and then made me think that I really should visit and learn a little more about what actually happened there. 

A few days free in Bilbao. I had already added Guernica to the list, but while working out how to get there, I spotted this amazing piece of coastline with a Hermita sitting prettily on the top. It's come to more recent fame thanks to Game of Thrones. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe gave life to Rocadragon (dragonstone), the fortress of the Targaryen house. I've never watched GoT, so that means absolutely nothing to me, but the place looked impressive. 

With my 2nd tour of 2026 having been postponed, but already having plans and tickets to Bilbao, I decided to go anyway and explore a bit more of this fabulous city. It was also great catching up with Portuguese/Dutch Liz (who I met in South Africa). 

On a dark and stormy night many, many years ago a baby girl was born, not in a manger, but in a hospital bed in a small town named Reading in the borough in Berkshire. Today, it is Berkshire's largest town, with a total population of around 355,600. To be honest, I'm not sure if it was a small town back then, but on that October day, it's population increased by 1. And that 1 was me.