Blog - BRIDGET THE MIDGET

Winter Quarters

5th September 201317th March 2020 By roychinnor2 Comments

Portugal is Bridget’s 52nd country and largely new to me. The drive down to Porto from Vigo was short but interesting. Lots of tree covered mountains, but unfortunately speckled with forest fires. Conditions are seriously dry and there are notices everywhere warning people to take care, but still the fires occur. Arriving in the city of Porto, not Oporto as inaccurately entitled by the British, I was struck by the wide avenues, plentiful statues and unfortunately the disrepair of many buildings. Once again, the financial crisis is evident although some regeneration is under way in Porto. My priorities were set and I visited the Port wine producers as soon as I had checked into a hotel. As the world centre for the production of port all the big names are here and all have visitor centres. I was recommended to choose Sandeman as the first which I did and was fascinated by the production process. However the disposal methods were far more...

Why Does Anybody Love The English

30th August 201317th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

San Sebastian is just as good today as I remember it from 2006. I tend to think of it as a small Barcelona, without the football enthusiasts. It has an old town full of small alleys with terrific Tapas bars, historic buildings, albeit many have been rebuilt following a major fire (probably some Nordic holiday makers or it may have had something to do with Portuguese and British troops sacking the town after giving Napoleons men a slap), museums and cultural events. It is very popular and hotel rooms are over-subscribed during August. It is to be the European City of Culture in 2016 and will have to seriously address the shortage of accommodation before then. Overlooking the city is a figure of Christ atop of Mount Urgull on which were the fortified ramparts that Napoleon captured during the Peninsula War of 1808-14. There is even a British cemetery in the grounds for the soldiers that fell during the taking of...

Back To The Future

22nd August 201317th March 2020 By roychinnor6 Comments

Sorry for my prolonged absence. It has been so long that I couldn’t remember what my last post covered and had to go on site to see. Anyway, we have had an eventful few days in France and another of those “Bridget should never have made it” moments, followed by Moss Europe digging us out of the clag again! They must be fed-up with us by now, but they continue assisting. After the wonderful run through the Selvio Pass and a couple of nights at Terisimo we continued in the general direction of France. My regulars will know the high esteem that I hold France in, and I suddenly had an unaccountable urge (possibly connected to a surfeit of wine) to visit my cousin in Blaymont, Lot and Garonne. Although they had other family already there, they were, of course, delighted to be honoured with a visit. A number of times I was unable to ignore an aweful banging when I started...

And Then There Were Three

15th August 201317th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

From Pordeone we drove over to Tremisone, on Lake Garda. This area has always been a favourite of mine and very many Brits for many years. For me it’s just about nature, the mountains and inevitable lakes. Unfortunately this particular area is just about saturated from a traffic point of view and it is difficult to know how to resolve it. Widening the roads, apart from being difficult, would spoil many aspects of the area, but it is impossible to restrict the numbers. I had checked into my hotel in Pieve di Tremisone and completed the initial recce of the town and was just about to enter the building when a MGF pulled up in the car park opposite. I walked over and introduced myself to the occupants, a couple from Hebdon Bridge. Unfortunately they are not MGCC members, but still very nice people. First of the family I have seen since leaving the UK. One of the photos I have uploaded...

Return To Italy

11th August 201317th March 2020 By roychinnor2 Comments

Feeling thoroughly refreshed after a couple of days in Maribor, Bridget and I set-off for Sesta al Reghena, some 20 miles West-Nor’-West of Trieste and 15 miles West-Sou’-West of Udine. I am not sure how to pronounce the latter, so I asked a cockney “Wasn’t he that geezer with chains, a sack and a tank of water?” It occurred to me after, what a shame it is that there wasn’t a prison camp there during World War II, then hundreds of Brits could tunnel their way out and we could make a film entitled “Escape from Udine” The drive was event free and the scenery was back to what I enjoy so much, lots of open space with some serious mountains in the distance. Much of the urban housing across Slovenia is similar to the chalet styles you would see in the French Alps areas, Austria and, I imagine, Switzerland. The latter is one European country I have not been to,...