Travel 2010 – Monaco, Vence, Valbonne, Days 4 and 5

Saturday, 16th/Sunday, 17th October 2010 – Monaco, Vence, Valbonne, Days 4 and 5 Saturday we again got off to a slow start – though I did slot in my training run (13k) before breakfast (having watched Nico Hulkenberg vanish into the distance outside – I never saw him come back). At breakfast they were losing…

Travel 2010 – Monaco, Antibes, Day 3

Friday, 15th October 2010 – Monaco, Antibes, Day 3 Friday morning I got up relatively early and went for a swim in the hotel pool – which was heart-stoppingly cold that early in the day. The sun was just coming up behind the building and hadn’t hit the water, but I soon warmed up and…

Travel 2010 – Monaco, Days 1 and 2

Wednesday, 13th/Thursday, 14th October 2010 – Monaco, Days 1 and 2 I’ve been missing in action for such a long time now that it’s very hard to know where to start, so I’ll make it simple and go with where I am right now and what I’m doing. After a long complicated summer, Lynne and…

Travel 2009 – Portimao, Silves, Faro, Estoi, Day 5

Monday, 14th September 2009 – Portimao, Silves, Faro, Day 5 Monday morning we were in no hurry at all to do anything or go anywhere, apart from needing to check out of the Globo by noon. We had a leisurely breakfast, packed slowly and were ready to go by 11. Bills paid and car packed…

Travel 2009 – Portimao, Days 3 and 4

Saturday, 12th/Sunday, 13th September 2009 – Portimao, Days 3 and 4 Saturday morning dawned slightly cloudy but it soon cleared and we headed out to the circuit for qualifying. This time we left Bogusia at the hotel, and Natasha/Doris switched off, which meant that instead of taking an hour to reach the track it only…

Travel 2009 – Zeltingen-Rachtig, Traben-Trarbach, Bernkastel-Kues, Erden, Wehlen, Urzig, Jezus-Eik, Days 5 and 6

Monday, 8th/Tuesday, 9th June 2009 – Zeltingen-Rachtig, Traben-Trarbach, Bernkastel-Kues, Erden, Wehlen, Urzig, Jezus-Eik, Days 5 and 6 Monday dawned sunny and fine, so we had a late, leisurely and extremely good breakfast. The hotel specialises in organic produce from the immediate area as much as possible and also various smoked and home-cured meats and fish….

Travel 2009 – Hockenheim, Zeltingen-Rachtig, Days 3 and 4

Saturday, 6th/Sunday, 7th June 2009 – Hockenheim, Zeltingen-Rachtig, Days 3 and 4 Saturday was a busyish day, with qualifying and one race, though it could have been worse. The weather wasn’t too good, but again that was pretty immaterial really. It had been an odd sort of race, with quite a few unexpected incidents, including…

Travel 2008 – Macau, Hong Kong, Days 8 – 11

Saturday, 14th/Tuesday, 17th November 2008 – Macau, Hong Kong, Days 8 – 11 I was still feeling pretty rough on Saturday morning so breakfast was a slice of white toast, two imodium tablets and a very milky coffee, before we eventually headed for the paddock. Anyway, having encountered the world’s most unusual bellboy on the…

Travel 2008 – Hong Kong, Day 3

Monday, 10th November 2008 – Hong Kong, Day 3 After a good night’s sleep, we got up latish, and went for breakfast in the Ambassador Club in the hotel. With a wide range of options, it was very good indeed, especially the freshly cooked omelette I went for. After that we set out to explore,…

Travel 2008 – Hong Kong, Days 1 and 2

Saturday, 8th/Sunday, 9th November 2008 – Hong Kong, Days 1 and 2 After a certain amount of panicked packing the night before, and the cancellation of all appointments on Saturday, we got off to a leisurely start after a late breakfast, loading up the car at 1 pm and heading for Heathrow airport, leaving Andrea…