Away ...

Away for three weeks - so no more posts

Hopefully some new photographs of Spain will be available 

In the meantime will leave you with this ...

Madrid - the old RENFE station !!! After renovation of course !!!

Cetinje

This is the central area of Cetinje , Montenegro

Ripe for development once they are in the E.U. no doubt !

Seat of learning ....

Stopped in Cambridge just for a few hours whilst travelling from Kent to Manchester

Wish I'd had a longer time. Hope to go back one day for a good look around

Welcome to Spain - Part 3

Orihuela - Alicante,  Spain - River Segura

1902

Somewhere down this main street in 1902 my great-grandfather overturned the carriage he was driving and killed himself.

Rumour was he met a motor car ( unusual in those days ) and the horses bolted !

The town in question is Stamford and a very pretty town indeed !

He worked for the Burghley Estate whose offices were just a few yards away from where this photo was taken 

Welcome to Spain - Part 2

Nice little place - near to town centre , shops and bars - at Puerto de la Santa Maria near Cadiz

Rezevici Monastery - Petrovac

Hanging around with nowhere to go - Montenegro style
Entrance to Rezevici Monastery - it was a long walk up here ! Bit out of the way !
Inside the Monastery at Pretovac Montenegro - to reach here a guide took us along a coastal path and up through the woods , down a dark tunnel and over a derelict hotel site  !

Cornwall coast

This is the wild Cornwall coast near Mevagissey ..

A pleasant holiday was had in nearby Newquay where every pub seems to have a " bouncer " on the door. The surfer types must be a bit wild also !! 

A car in ....

A car in Bulgaria - near the railway track I guess

Q for Quebec City - Quick photo opportunity

Very ornate church , managed to capture these pictures from an open door as I was passing on a guided tour around Quebec City

Was really impressed with Quebec City and enjoyed seeing the Plains of Abraham where General Wolf was victorious over the French forces .

!!  Have managed to loose one picture from the post and have now duplicated it !!

Hence the " ? " below. Anyone any idea what causes this problem ???   Thanks

Out with the birds

Elche - Spain ( not far from Alicante ) also called Elx

Large gardens with huge palm trees and these little creatures can be found very near to the city centre

Girl and Dog

These two can be found on the banks of the River Danube at Budapest

GALWAY

This is the Latin Quarter in Galway

At weekend you will find these streets crowded with students from the local university

A pint !!!

It may say Murphys but this is actually a pint of Guinness  !!

Nothing more to say really !!

Bridge over " troubled" water

Well not actually troubled water but the River Danube..

This bridge links Buda with Pest .

Not a bad place to visit is Hungary and their wonderful tram system in the centre of the city could teach a lot to some of our transport authorities 

Guardamar echa el cierre.

Muchos comercios de Guardamar han tenido que cesar su actividad por falta de ventas, lo que refleja una importante crisis económica en todas los sectores .... so says " Guardamar Digital " the local free newspaper in Guardamar. In English basically - " enterprises are shutting down and there is an economic crisis".

Yes some enterprises have shut down recently, but I think that reflects the pattern of life in a seaside town, especially one that relies on meeting the demands of its visitors for trade. Even now new bars and cafes are opening and people moving into the town with new business ventures.

What is certain is that many of the building sites ( apart from those in key sites near the promenade or town centre ) are now deserted and the workforce withdrawn. This situation has been caused by building well over capacity - the market can not take the strain ! plus worries about security of tenure - as outlined in the Press over the last few months !

A quick trip around the estate agents will reveal many properties have been on the market for a long time - some of these now have reduced selling prices - in some cases as much as 20,000 Euros.

It would appear that in Spain double the amount of property has been built than is needed ???

So watch this space as they say ....... !!

Calle Las Vinas

Guardamar has two new enterprises - both in Calle Las Vinas which is not far from the Mercadona.

The Flavour Shop is open for a wide range of flavoured teas and coffees. A pleasant place, the lady serving hails from the USA - the State of Florida.

Also in the same street is a Bulgarian grocers - Danubio - OK if you want a Bulgarian newspaper or bottle of wine. Not been in myself - not being a reader of Bulgarian newspapers. On our arrival in this part of Spain we were amazed to find so many people of Russian origin - not a race of people one would be expecting to inhabit the Costa Blanca in great numbers. Guess that the world is a far more mobile place these days especially after the fall of the Soviet era.

Let's hope these places succeed and do not join the list of other enterprises that have quickly failed in this seaside town.

Salon de Te

Guardamar del Segura  has a new " Salon de Te " at the Plaza Porticada.

Here one can purchase " Produits Francais ", Pastelerias, Bollerias and Panaderia in addition to tea, coffee and beers

It's called LES GOURMANDISES

Would appear to be run by frenchmen ( not that I've asked their nationality ) - a pleasant place and worthy of a visit.

Background music is of a classical nature and must be a first for Guardamar

I hope it is a success !!

Havana Bay

I have recently read " Havana Bay " by Martin Cruz Smith

Hero Arkady Renko a Russian investigator travels to Cuba to identify a body found at sea and presumed to be that of a Colonel Sergei Pribluda - he has a romantic attachment ( old fashioned phrase ! ) with detective Ofelia Osorio and nearly meets a sticky end at the hands of Segeant Luna.

The book paints a vivid picture of Cuban poverty, the seedy side and the legacy of its African past.

At times I felt that the story line was rather on the slow side and shall not rush to purchase any more books from this series