We had originally booked a week in Madeira from 11^th January to 18^th but Ryan air cancelled the flight so we rebooked for the 7^th to 14^th of January but lost our car parking payment of 65:00 pounds as neither Ryan Air or Manchester Airports would refund us or amend the dates so we had to pay again for parking so that was not a good start.

We left home to drive to Manchester at 5am to give us plenty of time for our 8am check in, flight went ok arriving in Funchal 3:40 hours later weather was warm but had just been raining. Through arrivals and at bus stop for bus in to Funchal watched two bus drivers arguing with each other about getting in line to pick up passengers, funny to watch. Arrived in Funchal and took taxi up to Monte above Funchal to the guest house we were staying at and was ripped off by taxi driver so not a good start. Anyway, got settled in to our room which was shown to us by a lady working there who was rather abrupt but it was in a funny way we christened her Mrs. Shoo Shoo as she waved her arms in front shooing us out of the breakfast room when we went in to early. We ended up getting on really well with each other.

After unpacking we took a bus back down in to Funchal for a walk around some food shopping and seeing what was on offer for trips around the island as we had decided not to hire a car this time. we found a small shopping centre which had a supermarket in the basement and it had a restaurant where you put your food on your plate then at checkout, they weighed it and you paid on the weight and there were several vegetarian options for me and at a good price. so, whenever we were in Funchal we went there till one day we went in and it had disappeared they had boarded the area off with boards painted the same colour as the walls it was quite the illusion made us think we had imagined it ha-ha.

We spent the following day walking and busing around Funchal area and booked two trips to go to West and North part of island and another day to go to East, then we took a bus up to Monte Palace to walk around the tropical gardens which was lovely they even had a Japanese garden, we then went back down and visited Funchal cathedral which still had all its Christmas decorations up the building of it was completed in 1517.

The next day we were picked up near the guest house at 8:15 in a small bus and after picking up other passengers we set off for the West and North of the island. We first called at the famous glass viewing platform near Cabo Girao nearly 2,000 feet above the beach which gave a spectacular view. Then we went to Ribeira Brava one of the island's oldest towns on the coast which experienced very heavy flooding a number of years ago, a really lovely place. We then climbed out of the valley up over the top and continued heading west reaching Rabacal unfortunately the clouds descended so we couldn't see the views or walks. we then continued on to Porto Moniz on the coast at the most north westerly point which is effectively split in two the top area being the main town with lots of agriculture businesses and down by the coast the seaside area with lots of restaurants, natural rock bathing pools we had a meal in the recommended place from the driver and Jun enjoyed a sea food meal and I had a nice vegetarian meal as well. Then we walked along the front with huge waves crashing over ( no one swimming today ). We then had a lovely scenic coastal journey to the town of Seixal which was another nice place vineyards clinging to the sides of hills and cliffs, from there we drove to Sao Vicente a very picturesque town with beautiful painted houses where we spent some time walking around before heading back to Funchal stopping off at a roadside shops/cafe where we had a walk along the river following one of the Levadas and then having a drink of the local Poncha  by the fire.

The next day we spent in and around Funchal, we took the cable car up to the top of the surrounding hills to visit the Jardim Botanical gardens and watched the tourists being steered down the hills on the local toboggans. Then later we visited the old sea fort as well as wandering around the old town area also took local buses along the coast just getting on and off before going back to Funchal and visiting the natural history museum.

The next day we were picked up by the mini bus to visit the East side of the island travelling up and along the coast then inland but lots of the views obscured by mist. We visited Santana where there are lots still of the traditional Madeiran houses one in particular was very interesting as the owner invited us all in gave each of us a drink they have lived in the house for generations but he now has a more modern one in the garden. One funny moment was when he pointed out the old bed and said to me "I was made and born in that bed". We then continued back down around the coast stopping at the cliffs at Ponta de Sao Lourenco and the port of Canical famous in that was where the film director John Huston went to film Moby Dick. Then down to the town of Machico and Santa Cruz before being dropped off back at the guest house.

The next day we spent visiting museums art galleries etc and also the Convent de Santa Clara, I visited the photography museum while Jun had a walk about. We then visited a local eating place we had been told about in which we queued down the stairs waiting for a table but it was worth it.

The following day we checked out of the guest house and moved to Santa Cruz and stayed in a beautiful hotel where we received a free upgrade. There was a festival on which marks the end of Christmas but for the first few hours we couldn't leave the hotel as the rain was torrential. Eventually it cleared and we went out for a nice long walk then returning to the centre visited all the local stalls set out for the festival and ate local traditional food, went in to the church for a service, then down to the beach are for a big concert that was being put on free but had to wait quite awhile as they were having problems setting up. When they did start there was a large crowd everyone singing and dancing all in all a great atmoshere. But we left fairly early as we had to be up for 4am for our taxi back to the airport. the hotel had put food out for us which was nice and we had a good flight back with no problems.        

We travelled up to Newcastle the evening before our early morning flight staying at the Brittania hotel by the airport and where we could leave our car for the week. Up at 5am walked over to the airport for a 3.5-hour flight to Chania took 1.5 hours to clear customs and then picked up our hire car and set off to drive to the seaside village of Bali 10 minutes in to the drive and we saw what looked like a serious crash with a pick up on its side and had been on fire. arrived at Bali nearly 2 hours later and eventually found our self-catering apartment, a really nice place with a huge balcony overlooking the small port. After unpacking we went for a walk, had something to eat then bought some shopping at a local supermarket, lots of cats about all seemed very friendly.

Had a good night's sleep then we had breakfast on the balcony before driving to the Monastery of Arkadhi one of the most famous in Crete where in 1866 Monks and some lay people blew themselves up along with Turkish invaders when they breached the walls of the Monastery. We had a very interesting conversation with two other visitors from mainland Greece about our life in England and theirs in Greece and that one of their sons lives in London and they have visited a couple of times but want to spend time visiting other areas of the country.

Later we drove to Rethimon and parked down by the port and had a few hours wandering the streets of the old quarter had a meal and tried Goats milk ice cream which was delicious.

The next day we set off to travel over to the south coast first stopping off at Marion Botanical gardens which was beautiful and the shop itself contained every tea,herb,oils,ointments that you could think of, Jun bought a few Aromatherapy oils, teas and herbs we also had something to eat in there cafe with all home grown food and the food was delivered to our table by a robot that spoke to you and you almost caught yourself about to talk back. We then drove up to the cliffs on the coast to the Monastery of Plevia with wonderful views the Monks did a lot to save allied soldiers to evacuate Crete during the second world war and received medals and written commendations from allied countries. We then drove to Plakias by way of extremely narrow winding roads had lunch then left and drove back by way of Kotsifou Gorge and visited the chapel in the rock face, very impressive then we stopped off at the bottom of the hills and had a nice walk before heading back to Bali.

The next day we set off in the other direction East towards the capital Heraklion firstly taking a road south to the 13^th Century Convent Paliani, it was one of the most tranquil serene places we have visited and it was difficult to leave it had a Myrtle tree in the center supposedly famous for healing and over a 1,000 years old, we were made very welcome by the sisters and some lay people. We then carried on to the village named Zaros stopping for something to eat at a local taverna after Jun observed them cooking over an open fire on waste ground opposite. We then drove to the outskirts of Heraklion to see the 3,500 year old palace/temples of Knossos. It was very interesting but a lot of it had been rebuilt on how they think it was, and it was expensive E15 each, mine should have been E8 but when I asked for the elderly concession she asked where I was from and when I said the UK she said the concession doesn't apply for those outside the European market, I jokingly said I never wanted to leave but it fell on deaf ears.

Woke up the next day to grey skies and some rain so decided to drive up in to the hills to do some walking, we made our way to the ancient Greco-Roman village of Argiroupolis had a lovely coffee then walked around the village before picking up the trail from a map one of the locals gave us that led down to The Place of the 5 Holy Virgins ( the sign said The Place of the 5 Holly Virgins ) with its 11^th century chapel and 5 caves where the young women were interred after being executed by the Romans for practicing Christianity. Alongside it is the oldest tree in Crete reckoned to be at least 2,000 years old. We stopped at a restaurant on the way back and the guy said you had better eat now as it is going to get very busy soon, he wasn't kidding within half hour it was packed apparently 1^st of May is a big holiday there everyone goes out and people also collect wild flowers. We also passed the remains of an ancient villa that bore the inscription above the portal "Omnia Mundi Fumus et Umbra" All things in this world are smoke and shadows. It relates to a massacre of 300 rebels who were invited to a wedding and plied with drink by the hosts and later set upon by his army. We then drove further up into the mountains visiting a place that has hardly changed in centuries called Asigonia the men still dress in black with long hair and mustaches looking like Greek brigands. 

After breakfast we drove to the village of Margaritas which is famous for its pottery while walking around, we found a small monastery there so went in and the gardens were beautifully maintained with a lovely courtyard I spoke with a monk and asked him how many of them lived there and he said only me I complimented him on the gardens and church which really pleased him and he offered us homemade biscuits which were delicious. We bought a couple of things from one of the potteries then drove on to Arhea Eleftharna and visited a church which was being renovated by one local man and a small acropolis close by. after this we drove further up the mountain and felt it becoming much cooler arriving at the small town called Axos where we stopped for a late lunch at a local taverna owned by a very friendly man and his wife who after we had a meal gave us free desserts and Raki.

We decided this day to visit some villages and Monasteries over the other side of one of the mountains, it was quite a climb on very steep narrow roads with spectacular views but not for the fainthearted. One of the places was the coastal village of Panormos and we walked down the pier looking at the fishing boats, Jun asked one fisherman if he had a fish to sell her for a few euros and he took one from the net and gave it to her saying" no euros free,free" Jun said " Thank you and God bless you" which seemed to please him very much. When we arrived back at the apartment it became very,very windy a real storm got up but standing on the balcony watching it was great.

Up at 6am on our last day set off early to drive to Chania before taking the car back, parked up and spent 2 hours around the old town and port area a very lovely place. took car back and everything was ok then to the airport arriving nice and early but with very dark clouds appearing. Check in went fine we were all in the departure lounge when the thunder and lightning hit with torrential rain. We saw our plane landing and everything seemed to be ok as the passengers disembarked then we were told there was a delay with an electrical problem and we could see engineers around the nose of the aircraft, eventually they towed it away and we were told another plane was coming for us which arrived after a 5 hour delay. Talking to the cabin crew when we boarded one of them said it was the worst experience of her life bad weather encountered after leaving the UK then approaching Crete, there was a really loud bang they were struck by lightning which knocked out some electrics, all the oxygen masks dropped down and there was a hole in the nose of the aircraft. Thankfully our flight back was very smooth and we arrived back at Newcastle very late but safe.               

We drove up to Newcastle on the Friday evening and stayed at a hotel to be at the airport for 5am for our 7am flight to Grenoble the next day. The flight left on time and we arrived on time but faced a 3-hour queue to get through customs which although we were aware of the delays still didn't prepare us for the chaos at the airport. Once through we faced another 90-minute wait for a shuttle bus in to Grenoble, we met up with two guys one from Bristol on his way to Chamonix to play a gig and the other from the lake district going snowboarding he was also an instructor and had travelled the world quite a bit. We arrived at Grenoble bus station and after another 1 hour wait, we caught the bus to Lyon which took another 2 hours so we were feeling a little tired by then. We were staying at an ex-monastery up above Lyon with lovely views of the city below plus right next to us a Roman Amphitheatre. After unpacking we walked down in to the old town then back up which by then was grueling and we couldn't find somewhere to eat locally so had to go back down to the old town again, luckily by then we had found the Funicular which took us down through a tunnel and after eating we took it back up for an early night's sleep.

The next day was Jun's birthday and after breakfast we firstly visited the Basilica Notre Dame and I attended Mass with Jun, the priest spoke to Jun at the end in perfect Mandarin. We then set off to walk around Lyon firstly through all the markets stopping off for Jun to sample Oysters and Frogs legs. After walking a few miles following the River Rhone we started back visiting exhibitions, art galleries and museum, as we approached the main square there was a very large police presence and the start of a demonstration, we then went in to the Museum of Fine Arts and at the end we finished on the third floor at which point a group of men and women suddenly started shouting and singing producing banners opening the windows and waving. The security was caught completely unawares and at this time there was a large crowd in the square shouting, singing, playing musical instruments so we went to the ground floor and were let out of a side door by security as we couldn't exit the main doors, we then walked around to the front so I could video and photograph some of it.

The next day we packed and had a quick visit to the Cathedral again to take some photographs then made our way back to the bus station to take the coach to Chamonix a 4-hour journey which cost us the equivalent of five pounds each. It was a lovely drive down there surrounded by the Alps and Chamonix was beautiful as was the small hotel we stayed at all wood construction with views from the balcony of Mont Blanc. After unpacking we went for a walk stopping off to buy tickets for the next day to go up to Aiguille Du Midi the highest cable car in the world, I believe, also tickets to travel on the Glacier train.

The next morning after breakfast we walked over to the cable car as we had a 9:30 slot, it took two cable cars to reach the summit at a height of 12,602 feet and what magnificent views all around and Mont Blanc so close, we climbed up the last part on a staircase and I started to feel light headed, dizzy and a little sick so obviously the altitude got to me, but I soon settled down then me and Jun went in to the sky box completely made of glass, amazing! we went back down after 3 hours and made our way to the station for the Montenven train to the Mer De Glace a 7km long 200-metre-deep glacier beautiful scenery all the way up and there. After this we had a late meal packed and caught the 5pm bus to our next stop at Annecy arriving at 6:45 and after booking in to the hotel we had a walk around the old town and had something to eat.

The next day after breakfast we set off to walk around the Annecy lake which Annecy sits upon, it is Frances third largest lake and supposed to be the cleanest in Europe it was a lovely sunny day and we walked quite a way then decided to catch a local bus to travel further down the far side to Tallores after which we bused back up to the picturesque town of Menthon St-Bernard and had a lovely walk around the town and lake and after a meal we set off to visit the Chateau de Menthon famous for being the birthplace of Saint Bernard but it was closed so we just viewed it from outside. We then took another bus back to Annecy and spent the evening walking around the town and visiting the famous lovers bridge and old prison. The next day we spent the whole morning exploring Annecy further we visited the ex-prison set in the canal that runs through Annecy giving it a kind of Venice feel, the prison was last used to house French resistance fighters then later the German soldiers at the end of the war. we visited some nice churches and the Cathedral and Jun bought a really beautiful teapot as her birthday present to herself. We then boarded the bus at 12:45 back up to Grenoble arriving at 2:30 and while we were at the bus station, we checked for buses up to Le Grand Chartreus the Carthusian Monastery for the next day and booked the tickets.

There were more demonstrations going on in Grenoble but we managed to avoid them and booked a table for the evening at a French farm style restaurant. I couldn't see much on the menu for vegetarian so I choose a veggie burger and was really surprised when they brought it, it was huge and a plate full of salad and French fries I struggled to finish it, Jun had Calf's head.

The next morning we caught the local bus at 8:40 up to the mountains and had the driver drop us off at the road that led up to Chartreus then followed a long hard climb for one and a half hours to reach it, but was it worth it, it was beautiful and so very quiet and of course we could not go inside they are the strictest and most secluded Christian order in the West but we just loved being there. We then walked back down to get the bus back to Grenoble and after having a late afternoon walk around the city centre  we went back to the French Farmhouse restaurant, this time I ordered cheese fries in salad and again struggled to eat it all Jun had a speciality chicken dish I also tried a drink of Chartreus liquor which took my breath away and made my eyes water it was so strong. 

The next morning we were up at 5am to catch the 6am bus to the airport as we decided to get there early because of the long delays and there certainly was some as French air traffic controllers were causing disruptions our flights were being changed all the time as well as the boarding gates. There was one funny moment when Jun and I had gone outside for air when I heard over the loudspeaker Jun's name with a message saying urgent come to information desk, when we got there, they examined Jun's passport then held up a credit card and said to Jun I think this is yours. We both looked at it and said no it isn't as it was another Chinese name with the Li surname the man couldn't pronounce the name so I asked him if he would like Jun to speak over the loudspeaker, he said yes please so Jun spoke in Mandarin and the guy managed to get his credit card back.

Eventually we got on to the plane after 1pm followed by another hour sat there while it waited for clearence till eventually we set off on the return to Newcastle.             

We started to experiment with some different types of holidays this year 2022 one of them being coach trips. our first one was 3 days in London with the main purpose being a full day at Hampton Court for the annual RHS show which was an amazing experience such a large and diverse show with wonderful show gardens and many, many exhibitions and it was a really hot day, we bought quite a few plants to bring back with us as well. We had arrived the day before and we were all booked in to a lovely 4-star hotel at Canary Wharf a place which I had not visited since it was all modernised. We had walks along the Thames then took a water taxi down to Tower Bridge and spent the evening walking around. The following day was the RHS which took up the whole day, and the following day after breakfast and checking out we had 4 hours in the centre of London. Jun and I spent most of it at the British Museum.

The next coach trip was to the Scottish Lochs staying at a hotel on the shore of Loch Long which we spent some time walking around as well as having a boat trip on Loch Lomond. The following day we drove to Edinburgh for the day as we all had tickets for The Edinburgh Tattoo. I had last been to the Tattoo as a 13-year-old boy in the Army cadets when we were at annual camp. During the day we had a good walk around Edinburgh and again had lunch at the Muslim Centre, food as good as ever. The evening show was extraordinary even Jun loved every bit of it.

The next day we drove to Oban and spent a couple of hours in this lovely seaport where ferries go out too many of the Islands. We then drove to Inverrary another famous town in Scotland and I was so pleased to see one of I think only two or three remaining Clyde Puffer ships left. After another night at the hotel, we set off home and called on the way to Scotland's Gretna Green the famous blacksmiths forge where people fled to get married, many from England and often being pursued by families trying to stop them.

We did another short weekend one going to Lincoln and York staying over one night in a hotel in Doncaster, Lincoln was very nice with many of its ancient buildings still intact, we also spent time in the Cathedral very impressive as well as seeing some Turners and Lowery paintings in the museum. The next day in York we did some shopping to find some Art deco prints for the house, had a nice Thai meal then went to the Jorvik Viking Centre as it had all been modernised since I was last there after the floods. It was well worth going we were very impressed with it all as you went through the reconstructed Viking village on a mono pod you had all the sights, sounds,  smells along with the automated villagers.

The next one was a longer and bigger coach trip which lasted five days, we travelled down to the port of Hull and boarded a P&O ferry for Rotterdam, we actually stayed on the ferry the whole time as each night at dinner time it would sail out 12 miles to an anchorage and stay there overnight then sailing back in at 6am while we were at breakfast. The ferry was having repairs done during the day so after breakfast there were four coaches of us that would set off each day to a different destination. The first day was to the Hague which was better than I thought it would be although on the morning it was torrential rain it had cleared within an hour of arriving. We set off to explore the city and visited the famous Mauritshuis Art gallery where we got the opportunity to see Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. The next day we drove to Brugge in Belgium a place I had not been to before and which really impressed us both with all its beautiful streets, buildings and canals the Rozenhoedkaai Quay of the Rosary, the Belfry tower which unfortunately was closed, the market square which was cleaned up spotlessly as soon as the morning traders left. The Groeninger Museum with its Flemish painters and ancient as well as modern works of art, The Church of Our Lady with its Michelangelo's sculpture of The Madonna and Child, the Basilica of The Holy Blood where we were able to go up to and look  ( with a priest observing everyone from the other side ) the purportedly vial containing a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ on it, one thing for sure there was a very strong atmosphere in the place. And of course, we had to try Belgian waffles with the many extras you could put on them.

The next day we drove to Amsterdam which as we had last visited in March and saw all the big galleries, gardens and museums we decided to firstly take a canal boat around the city which was very enjoyable then just have a good walk around, we visited St Nichola's Church off the square then all around Jordaan which was like stepping back in time, we spent time around the China town and Jun enjoyed a traditional meal from her hometown area. After this we wandered in to the red-light area which gave Jun a bit of a shock, we then went down to the cycle rental, repair vegetarian cafe we had visited last time I asked the couple who run the place what was the soup of the day, he said ( I thought ) spinach, I said great I'll have that, he then said no, finish all gone that gave us all a great laugh.Then it was back to the ship for our overnight crossing to Hull arriving the next morning with the only hitch being the passenger walkway broke down so we couldn't disembark, eventually we all had to down to the cargo deck and be bussed around to the customs and security gates.

We arrived home Friday evening and spent Saturday unpacking and repacking as on the Sunday we were driving up to Glasgow with other local Stella Maris ship visitors for its 25^th World Congress and its 102-year anniversary of its founding. There were delegates from the Vatican and all over the world for the 4-day event which was packed from start to finish starting early on a morning till late at night. There were some really good talks and opportunities to meet and talk with many people as well as attending church services and functions like dinner at the Chamber of Commerce with the Glasgow Lord Provost and other dignitaries.

And finally the following weekend we took another coach trip to Manchester to see The Cirque Du Soleil performance at the arena that was to say the least increduble I was enthralled watching it. The next day we drove to Liverpool for 4 hours so managed to go to the Catholic Cathedral with the most beautiful stained glass and light, then we went to the Walker Art Gallery saw some more Lowerys then down to Albert dock for a walk around finishing off at the Museum of Liverpool before heading back home.      

We booked ourselves a week in Portugal for my birthday and flew from Teesside airport to Faro airport on the Algarve. At one point we had to evacuate the airport as the fire alarms went off and as we were going back in, we passed the kitchens and the cook and someone said "what was it burnt toast?" We arrived at Faro after a 3-hour flight and took the local bus in to the centre and walked to the hotel we were staying in for the night. We went out for something to eat then walked down to the old town Moorish quarter where we met up with Ell a local guide who walked us through the town and its history. 

The next morning, we walked around the marina and saw the famous statue of the woman with a fish head visited the old church and up to the top of its tower with lovely views across the wetlands. After lunch we made our way to the train station and took the train to Lisbon a nearly 4-hour journey then took a uber to Sarahs apartment where we were staying through Airbnb, she made us very welcome and shared all her knowledge of Portugal and Lisbon with us, as well as giving us two travel cards that we could just top up for travel on trams, buses, ferries, metro so that was a great help. We walked quite a distance to the nearest metro and topped up the cards then just kept walking right down in to the Alfama district where we had an Indian meal for my birthday and we were entertained by some incredible street performers, after which we walked to a famous Fardo restaurant and bar and asked them if we could just have a drink at the table and watch the show and they said yes no problem and fitted us in to a very lively busy room where we felt we were gate crashing a party, but it was a great experience., we then caught the last tram of the evening back to the apartment.

We arose early the next morning and decided to go straight out have breakfast then we took a tram to end of terminus then another to Santos then another tram out to the district of Belem visiting all the waterfront attractions like the prow of the Padrao dos Descobrimentos and the Tower of Belem as well as going around the botanical gardens of Jarden and of course visiting the famous Antiga Confeitaria for coffee and custard tarts followed by visiting the church at the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. We then took a train back to Sintra and walked around the square I had last walked across in 1968 when I was on a ship there loading cork for the USA, after this we took a ferry ride across to another area called Almada and back and then went to a recommended local family run restaurant used by locals for which we had to wait over an hour to get in but it was certainly worth it, a very nice friendly family.

The next day same itinerary up early breakfast then a tram down to the large flea market, Jun bought a lovely hand stitched piece of art that the woman said had been done by her grandmother and we also bought a very strange looking bottle fixed tightly inside a metal frame with a winding mechanism and lever on the bottom for our garden. We then made our way to a local train station and took the train out to the town of Sintra which is a part of the UNESCO world heritage area, a really beautiful town and surrounding National Park, we visited the stunning Quinta da Regaleira a huge villa set in fantastic grounds including the Initiation well. After all this we walked back in to town and paid a visit to another famous place specialising in custard tarts where we ate some with coffee then as we were leaving we decided to stand in the line for take aways at which point the young girl who had served us came running up with Jun's bag that we had left, we couldn't thank her enough and although she refused I insisted we give her some money. we then discovered that in the 1930's/40's a tram line had been built that ran from Sintra to the Atlantic Coast and it had been restored so we couldn't miss that opportunity and managed to get the last one of the day out there and stayed on it to come back, a really old screeching rattling ride that at times I swear went through peoples gardens, great fun.

The next day we took a tram in to Lisbon centre and found the old Funicular which we rode up and down then visited the Elevator which wasn't open but we had great views from the top. We then went to the main Catholic Church in Lisbon for Jun to take Mass and it was beautiful the choir was really something after which we had lunch then took bus up to the Gulbenkian Museum which had exhibitions of Islamic and Egyptian art as well as a fantastic collection of Lelac jewellery. We then found a traditional Indian restaurant where we had a really nice meal then back to the apartment and packed our things and had a late drink with Sarah and her partner.

We went down to the centre again the next morning bought a few things from a really old established Lisbon shop then back to the apartment had a talk with Sarah then took a uber taxi to the train station and back to Faro arriving at 6:30pm due to delays where we went to another Airbnb which again was really nice consisting of 5 separate rooms and shared kitchen and toilets but really well maintained and clean. On the night we went to a newly opened buffet style Vegan restaurant the food was delicious but just couldn't eat all of the different foods on offer. Finished the day with a walk around the old town again.

The next day we took the train along the coast to the town of Olhao from where we took a ferry out to one of the islands named Anorma which was very nice lovely old bungalows and chalets 

 walked across the sand dunes and feet in the sea, took the ferry back did some shopping in local supermarket then train back to Faro had a meal in the apartment then another walk and early night.

Up at 5:00 am packed and took Uber up to the airport for our 9am flight back home all went well except when our bags went through the x ray machines they picked up on the bottle we bought at the flea market they asked us what it was, we said we don't know we bought it at a flea market, they then said do you often buy things you don't know what they are, we said yes sometimes. At one point there were five of them all looking at the x ray of this bottle before giving it back to us, where it now has pride of place on a shelf in our garden at home.       

Well after not going on holiday abroad for over 2 years due to Covid we decided so to say dip our toes in the water and took a short break to see how it feels.

We booked a short stay in Amsterdam from the 27 March to the 30^th 2022 and crossed overnight on the Newcastle to Ijmuiden ferry. Arriving at the ship at 4pm and sailing at 5:30pm on a nice sunny evening I pointed out to Jun the old derelict dry dock at South Shields where I joined my first ship on November 9^th 1965 fresh out of Sea Training School. We arrived at Ijmuiden at 7:30 am after we had had a really good breakfast and then boarded the bus to take us to Amsterdam City Centre which dropped us off by the riverside behind the railway station from which we were able to walk to the marina for our stay on a houseboat. After having something to eat we walked back to the train station and took a train up to the airport and then picked up the direct link bus to the Keukenhof Gardens which we both found absolutely beautiful and spent the rest of the day there and also buying lots of tulip bulbs and I bought a small orchid. We caught a bus and metro back to the houseboat and after cooking ourselves a light meal we spent the evening walking around the city centre.

The next morning after breakfast and spending a bit of time talking to the young guy who lives on the houseboat looking after it for the owners, we took the tram up to the Rijks Museum and spent the rest of the morning there before going back to the boat to pack and finding a lovely quirky cafe and second hand shop where we had something to eat and bought an old Indonesian wooden cat that was larger than the one we bought when we were in Indonesia and which we had been looking for ever since, of course it wouldn't go in our luggage so we had to carry it around with us the rest of the day and back to the ferry on the evening. we were picked up by the bus late afternoon and back to the ferry for our overnight crossing still very warm and calm seas although later in the evening it got a bit choppy. we had booked for a evening meal on board which was really nice and such a large selection of vegetarian for me, after which we booked for the 9pm cinema showing of Belfast and as we were the only two there it was like being in your own room with a giant TV.

We arrived back to North Shields at 8am and were on our way back home by 10am, having had a really good break.     

Due to the Covid pandemic we have not been on any holidays this year so do not have any holiday stories to write about, we have been more or less in some kind or level of isolation since March. Jun has been working from home but I have not been able to get down to the port to do ship welfare visiting, we pretty much stay in most of the time. We do manage to go out riding our bikes on a morning and we have been researching and riding old railway lines on weekends collecting old photographs and taking new ones of the lines, stations, signal boxes and general history of them etc.We even bought a book on the subject which shows over a 100 of them around Britain which we are going to try and complete. 

 We did have 3 days in Edinburgh in January and decided to go by train which we really enjoyed, did a bit of sightseeing and visited museums and galleries. Also went to see the musical The Lion King which was incredible the costumes and set designs were amazing. We also took the bus out to Roslyn to see the famous chapel there that was a beautiful place full of historical significance ( quite apart from the less significant aspect of being the final scene in the film of Dan Browns book The Davinci Code).

I was supposed to be going to London at start of April for some lectures but everything was cancelled and I was refunded the tickets for the lectures and the rail fare. We also managed in early September to get away in our campervan and tent to a site on the outskirts of North Berwick Scotland to spend a few days cycling old railway paths in the area. Although we did manage to complete three the weather was not very kind and we struggled in gale force winds and at times heavy rain and on one night we were awake most of the night having to keep going outside to secure the tent as it was on the verge of being torn away due to the winds and the rain got in to the tent making many things very wet, It turned out to be a tiring trip as well as a bit of an adventure and I think we were glad to be home at the end of it.   

So I have had plenty of time for contemplation, meditation and study at home and keeping in touch with the meditation groups and Throssel Buddhist Abbey via Zoom,e mails, calls etc. I also do Zoom meeting with Stella Marris every week we have managed to help one Spanish ship stranded off the Philipine coast after I read an article about it and passed it to our Chaplain, it then went to Head Office and from there to Stella Marris in Manilla who pressured the Govt to send out supplies to it. The other one was working with ITF (International Transport Federation) after Jun and I came across a Chinese Seafarer on a ship in the UK who after talking with him about wages, conditions etc realized he was very homesick and had mental health issues possibly verging on suicidal  thoughts, so we passed all this on to ITF and they spoke with the owners to get him off the ship and repatriated home. There is an article that I wrote about myself and Jun's visits to ships which Stella Maris had asked for which I have included at the end of this blog as a way of showing some of the things we do and the impact it can have on seafarers.

We went to Redcar sea front 6th of February for a service representing The Apostleship of the Sea to mark the 50th year since the sinking of The Lairdsfield and the death of all 10 crew at the mouth of the Tees a lot of people turned out for it including relatives from Northern Ireland who along with original members of the Lifeboat crew talked about how it affected them. I actually remember it and how the newspapers called it "The ship that did not want to sail", it had loaded steel for Cork and this had not been done correctly, she sailed and a crew member broke his leg so they came back alongside, sailed again and had engine trouble came back fixed that and sailed again in to a heavy swell the pilot got off and headed back to the station the ship turned to starboard was hit by a large swell and turned completely over before the pilot had even got back to the station a real tragedy. It was a lovely service and at the end there was a poem read called The Ship which was very moving.

Well things are starting to move a bit now as I have managed to go down to Teesport in December to make a start on putting toiletries,gloves,hats,socks,chocolate etc in to bags ready to give to seafarers for Christmas and we will start to go to the ships this week.

And finally, below is an article I wrote for Stella Maris AoS as part of their centenary celebrations.

An article that was published in the Apostleship of the Sea web site in 2020 I have always had a love of the sea and went to sea at age 16 for a few years followed by working on American oil rigs. But eventually went ashore and after retraining worked in Social Services and became a Supported Housing Manager as well as being a Buddhist Chaplain in local Hospitals.

But when I retired and after 4 years living in China with my Chinese wife Jun we returned to the UK. I wanted to do some volunteer work and the opportunity came up to be a ship visitor for Stella Maris when I met with Peter Barrigan the Chaplain for Tees and Hartlepool, and my wife joined me a year later also as a ship visitor and being Chinese there have been many opportunities to meet Chinese crews and help them in so many ways.

A few examples that spring to mind are…

One Chinese ship that had spent weeks at sea sailing to the USA where the crew were not allowed ashore. Then sailing to Teesport and due to a misunderstanding, they again believed they could not go ashore. The smiles on their faces when we explained that they could go ashore and what’s more we would take them was wonderful. We took them to the local towns, shopping, visiting places even spending quite a bit of time helping them to find fishing equipment, and when a few days later it was Chinese New Year Jun and I were invited to the ship to celebrate with them. The crew still over two years later keep in contact with us.

Another Chinese ship arrived at Teesport and whilst we were visiting, we found out that a large number of the crew had been away from home for many, many months and were feeling homesick and in particular missing traditional Chinese food especially a Chinese vegetable called in English, Chinese Leek, very different from our Leeks. Now Jun had a Chinese friend who lived about 15 miles from us and we knew she loved to grow traditional Chinese plants so we phoned her, and yes she had lots of Chinese Leeks,and yes we could have some. That same day we were back on board the ship delivering a bag full of Leeks plus other foods and herbs to a very surprised and grateful crew. Many of the Officers and crew keep in regular contact with us through WeChat as they sail all around the world and they often say the welcome they get from people in the UK is the best.

We were having a busy day visiting lots of ships when we received a call from the Mission on the North side of the river to inform us that they had a Filipino family there who had drove over from the other side of the Country looking for a ship in which their brother was the Chief Engineer, and that the ship was on our side of the river. We arranged to meet the family and get permission for them to go on to the port and visit him on the ship with us. We took them to the ship and after a very tearful greeting ( they had not seen each other for over 3 years ), we arranged for him to go ashore with them, do some sightseeing then go back to the Lake District where they lived and stay overnight. The Chief Engineer had to be back at work the next morning so we had them bring him back to the Mission very early the next morning and Roger one of our ship visitors agreed to come down to the port and take him back to the ship.

These are just three of the many stories of our times visiting ships at Teesport.

We booked ourselves a week driving around Tuscany which started by getting a early morning train from Darlington to Leeds as we were flying from Leeds/Bradford to Pisa, when we got on there was a young woman at the next table applying make up and she was still applying it over an hour later till just before Leeds I was amazed at the total transformation she became  a different person.

We had some spare time before catching the bus to the airport so we visited the art gallery on our way out we went in to the shop and I picked up some booklets/pamphlets then I spotted a map of the Leeds/Liverpool canal and said to Jun I will get that for Dave and proceeded to stuff it in my bag when Jun said how much is it I said its free as I took it back out and saw the price on it and realised I nearly had done shoplifting. Heavy rain when we left to walk to bus station and the plane was delayed leaving so we were late arriving at Pisa, and it was dark by the time I picked up the hire car for a 2 hour drive to San Gimignano the 13th century walled town famous for its towers. The  first half was on motorway but after that small unlit roads and the dawning realization that drivers in Italy don't take much notice of the dividing line down the middle of the road. When we arrived we had to find the right gate to enter the town to find the place we were staying then I had to drop Jun off with the bags and drive back outside and find somewhere to park. The hotel had been a small palace according to the owner and they had kept many original features, we went for a walk around the town after checking in and found the world famous ice cream makers Gelateria Dondoli's ( apparently it has won every world award ), it was delicious.

The next morning after a lovely breakfast we put our bags in the car then spent all morning exploring the town, really like going back in time we visited all the sites including a church and convent and bought truffles, then as we headed back to Dondoli's for a final ice cream I overheard a group of American ladies talking about the buildings and one said pointing " Gee it's just like a medieval New York" which made me do a quick turn to see what she could see that was like medieval New York and it was the seven towers. Back at Dondoli's I took a photograph of a large group of Chinese stood in line waiting for ice cream Jun said " they must be Taiwanese" I said "how do you know" she said "they are all in a orderly line if they were from the mainland they would be pushing to the front" ha-ha. We then drove to Voltero another lovely walled town had a late lunch visited the cathedral great views across the Tuscany countryside then set off across small back country roads stopping off at a rather strange town and watched what seemed like two rival groups of musicians in semi para military uniforms playing against each other, then on  to the farmhouse we were staying at for 3 nights just outside Montichino arriving after 6pm it was on top of a large hill looking down fields and fields of grapes and we had the place to ourselves and after unpacking we drove to a village supermarket to get food.

The next day we were up early to see mist in the valleys and the town of Montchino and a couple of hills seemingly floating in clouds a beautiful sight. Then we set off to visit the Benedictine Monastery of San Antino arriving just as Mass was starting so joined in, the monks sang beautifully, after which we walked around the place and gardens seeing and talking to some painters who were over there on painting/tuition holiday. We then drove in to Montchino, yes another walled town, famous for a particular type of wine and we had lunch at a restaurant where the walls from floor to ceiling were full of bottles of wine, there was a large extended family eating near us and picking the bottles out of the racks after having long conversations about them, so as we were leaving Jun asked them for advice on a nice wine which set off a long conversation about the various merits of wines before picking one for us. We then had a drive around the area stopping off at some Cypress trees after I spotted loads of photographers there, arrived back at the farmhouse made some coffee and we went on the balcony then a wind blew the door shut with the keys and phones inside and we were locked out!!!  Jun said she would walk down to the owners farmhouse about half mile away and arrived in time to see their car leaving, she then went to the next farm and managed to make them understand by miming what had happened and they then phoned them and got the brother in law to bring keys to us, but not before Jun had to walk all the way back.

The following day we set off to drive to Pienza  and on the way decided to stop at a town for a coffee it was called Santa Quiriso Orisa ( I think), and what a beautiful unspoilt non-touristy place we first stopped to watch some guys unloading grapes in to a small local winery and one of them gave Jun a large bunch of them ( would have cost 10 pounds in Tesco's) so we sat and ate them and later walking down a small back road we had walnuts falling off a tree around us, so we ate those too then had lunch staying there for 4 hours. After this we stopped off at a famous little chapel surrounded by cypress trees that you had to walk to, It's called The Madonna di Vitaleta but called by everyone The little ears chapel and we met a nice Chinese couple there and stayed for a nice talk.We finally reached Pienza famous as being the summer residence of Pope Pius 11 only stayed a couple of hours then drove back to farmhouse and had a lovely walk across all the fields at sunset before watching the film Tea with Mussolini.

Up early and packed ready to go after Mara the owner arrived and after about 20 minutes driving she phoned to say we had left our coats so we went back then set off again for Florence via Sienna I knew you couldn't drive in to the walled city so we parked about 15 minutes away and got a bus up. We paid for two returns and spent a couple of hours there then got the bus back and two inspectors male and female got on examined our tickets and said they were not valid as the returns are only valid for 1 hour we said sorry we didn't know and offered to pay the fare and after taking both our details and getting off the bus with us then said you are fined a penalty of 48 euros each plus the fares I said no way are we paying that at which point they said if you don't pay now it goes up to 90 euros each I said how could we know its not written anywhere and they said it's in English at the bus stops after they gave us the tickets and walked away we got back to the car and I said to Jun i'm going back to the bus stop to check and sure enough nothing in English so I went after them and asked them to show me where it says 1 hour in English and after searching they couldn't see it and pointing to the bus companies web site said "there if you go on that it's in English". I couldn't believe it and said to him would you go to a local bus companies website before getting on a bus in England? and he said " yes I would" and I just said that's a lie you know you wouldn't and walked away.

Anyway we then set off to drive to Florence and still being upset about it I missed the turn off for where we wanted to be and had to drive right through Florence from one side to the other in rush hour traffic before finally finding the ex monastery we were staying at and collapsing with exhaustion ha-ha. The place was on the outskirts of Florence so we just got the bus in to the centre and on the first night went to Mass at the Santa Marre del Flore very beautiful and later on the bus back I received a call from the captain I knew on a ship in Teesport asking me if I could pick him up I said I don't think I can I'm in Florence which gave him a good laugh. The next day after a great breakfast we spent walking around Florence visiting all the sites like the Ponte Vecctio bridge just taking out time, we then got the bus back to Hotel then later drove the car up to Fiesole a lovely little town overlooking Florence and had something to eat there. We went back in to Florence the following day to visit the Uffizi art gallery we had booked the tickets weeks before to fast track in, but still had to queue but it really was worth it. We then went to find  the famous food stall in the indoor market,  we knew we had found it when we saw the queue and we spotted the Chinese couple again in the line so we had a meal with them, the stall specialises in various meat dishes but they did a great vegetarian pasta for me. 

Later we got the bus back to the hotel as the young man on reception had promised to help me put an appeal in against the Sienna bus company and after that we sent it off by recorded delivery. On the last day Jun went to do some shopping and I just went for a long walk across the river up to the other half of Florence and then met back up with Jun and we went up to the park that overlooks Florence and on the way back in the centre I saw a woman sat in one of the horse drawn carriages that cost up to 50 euros to hire being driven around and all the time she was just scrolling and texting on her phone I found myself saying " whats the point" in a good imitation of Karl Pilkington ha-ha.

Up early the next morning packed had breakfast and set off to drive to Pisa spent first half hour trying to find a garage to fill up, we stopped off at Luca but only had time for a very short look around arrived at airport car ok and went to check in. First time they found Jun's wine and a jar of relish so we left the check in and went outside and gave the wine to 4 elderly German ladies who were very suprised and delighted to have it free, then we went back in to check in and they found Jun's truffles and took that so we didn't bring anything back except some great memories.