Western Europe

The Western European Countries (EU, EFTA etc)

A cracking time…

Posted by on 13, Jun 2023 in 2023 - Cathedrals, Europe, Tilly the Tandem, UK | 2 comments

A cracking time…

Oh dear… ???? Surgeon at work… Alloy weld fix. Back up and running.. ???? Soooooo tempting… ⛴️⛴️ And up another hill to get away… Before we change our minds.. Navigating the steps on the downhill cycle path hill into Dover Battle of Britain Memorial Yay… Sun is out and time for our first ice cream ???? Poor Tilly! 51,005km, 10 years 5 months 2 days old and the chain stay snapped completely through. We think it’s been cracked for a while though as we’ve had an irritating creaking occasionally and despite removing almost every component from the bike,...

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Pilgrims Progress

Posted by on 7, Jun 2023 in 2023 - Cathedrals, Europe, Tilly the Tandem, UK, Western Europe | 1 comment

Pilgrims Progress

Chelmsford Cathedral Try getting a loaded tandem over that! Rochester Cathedral More hurdles…. Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral Passport stamps Windy Whitstable.. Trauma for Tilly…. A couple of years ago the English Cathedral Association and Cycle UK put together a UK English Cathedral Pilgrimage route.   They give you (£5) a passport to collect stamps at each of the 42 English cathedrals so this is our summer route.  Why? Well, you may think after our short trip to neo Nazi Bible thumping, book banning, anti trans, gun loving Florida we came back all...

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No pain no gain

Posted by on 1, May 2023 in 2023 - Sicily and Italy, Europe, Portugal, Tilly the Tandem, Western Europe | 2 comments

No pain no gain

In Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy Slartibartfast wins awards for designing the Norwegian coastline. He obviously did the Portugal one too, presumably after Norway as it’s even more spectacular than his original work. We spend most of the days either moaning about some silly incline or wowing some fabulous view, which actually makes the hill pushing worthwhile. We headed further southwards through the lovely island village of Baleal which you can only access via the causeway and on to Peniche, another lovely walled town built on a promentory with an Indian restaurant ! Always...

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It’s a new dawn, a new day and I’m feel’n good…

Posted by on 19, Apr 2023 in 2023 - Sicily and Italy, Europe, Portugal, Tilly the Tandem | 1 comment

It’s a new dawn, a new day and I’m feel’n good…

Porto Beach Chapel Huge waves.. Never ending cycle path… Romans must have been here! Tilly soaking up some rays.. ???? Aveiro..Portugal’s Venice. Striped houses in Casa Nova Our flight from Italy was obviously not Captained by a Italian driver, all went smoothly and we landed safely in Porto,  reassembled Tilly with a slight scare when putting the chain tensioner back on the derailleur hanger and the thread was too worn for it to tighten. Fortunately I was able to remove a couple of spacers to get more purchase and it should be fine till we get home now – I hope!...

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Crapoli farewell.

Posted by on 13, Apr 2023 in 2023 - Sicily and Italy, Europe, Italy, Tilly the Tandem | 0 comments

Crapoli farewell.

Naples Castle Armed guard at Naples Cathedral. Naples Cathedral Egyptian mosaics Roman marble reliefs Underground cisterns Naples Lorenzo underground Roman city Napoli.. Shopping centre Naples Marina overlooked by Versuvius Arrivederci Italia…. About 25 years ago we came to Naples in our MG…. And hated it!  The traffic was horrendous (but almost certainly far less than now) and we spent a day in our hotel peering out of the window trying to figure a good time of day to leave.  So we weren’t really looking forward to coming back to this UNESCO site. Our first...

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An escape from Naples.. almost!

Posted by on 31, Mar 2023 in 2023 - Sicily and Italy, Europe, Italy, Tilly the Tandem | 1 comment

Typical small back road Casserta Palace A little rural escape Beach day… Roman aquaduct at Minturnae Minturnae Roman Villa and baths at Baiae Pozzuoli underground at Pozzuoli Amphitheatre Hang on to yer hat! The cycle up from Versuvius was what we’ve come to expect now from mainland Italy around Naples. Mad drivers and rubbish eveywhere. The main roads aren’t too bad, but if you’re lucky enough to find a small back road then it will be lined with rubbish. It really is a disgustingly filthy country around here. So, what would have been a pleasant cycle was just another...

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