siena italy

If you are looking for somewhere to go for a weekend, then why not pick Siena, one of Italy’s best preserved medieval towns, located in the heart of Tuscany. Siena, built on three hills and surrounded by well preserved walls, is filled with fine examples of Gothic architecture and has one of the world’s most unique piazzas – Piazza del Campo – (shaped like a shell with scalloped edges). Of course, the world-famous Palio of Siena is an important part of Sienese identity, history and culture.  A wonderful time to go is in the summer to see the colourful streets of Siena as it prepares for its two annual palio races.  A wonder for all who see, this tradition is unusual in that it is of the people of the city – the Palio is a unique phenomenon, one that arouses much emotion, an event that the Sienese people hold dear to themselves, and as such is a strong authentic tradition that is a once in a lifetime experience to witness and enjoy.

We ate lunch in the Osteria le Logge, just off the Piazza del Campo – robert still says it was one of the best lunches he has ever had.   Eat inside the beautiful room, which looks a bit like an 18th Century apothecary shop;  the food is fine Tuscan.

last walk in cornwall

caught the last of the lovely sun on our final morning walk past harbour cove in cornwall…..  the lovely snowy white hedgerows of blackthorn just look stunning……

fowey

a long way to go, but definitely worth it, the port town of Fowey ; the author Daphne de Maurier lived there most of her life writing all her famous novels -  it is so charming strolling through the narrow lanes, passing all the sweet gift shops.  Its still relatively unspoilt by the usual ‘fish and chips’ of some seaside towns;  i noticed the lovely vintage interior of the  lifeboat cafe , which looked like a great place to stop and have lunch and the Dwelling House looked perfect for afternoon tea, scones and clotted cream in the gorgeous rooms lined with porcelain tea cups and white linen tablecloths – I felt as though i was transported back to the 1920′s.  Good recommended places to have lunch are the old quay house hotel , with its lovely terrace or the restaurant  food for thought situated right on the front.   There were a couple of lovely shops selling vintage silk and victorian tablecloths and what every cute village needs – a sweet shop, with its jars and homemade fudge.  You just need to stroll around, taking in the breathtaking view;  be warned that its narrow steep streets, so put your walking shoes on. apparently Fowey Hall is a great place to stay and is child friendly; the Fowey Hotel is the traditional old style hotel. another interesting place to stay is in Polruan, in an old boat house – Polmarine B and B  A great time to come to Fowey is during the Daphne du Maurier festival in May.

Take a walk down to Menabilly beach, where there is a cottage that you can rent – the beach house and the manor house that apparently are the inspirational locations for the story of Rebecca.  after we did this we all sat and watched the original Rebecca film with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine – a wonderful classic family film – i just wanted all of joan fontaine’s clothes.  did you realise that the second Mrs De Winter is never named?  i wondered what she was called, but she never was named with a first name…..

padstow

have come to my friend Kim’s lovely house in  Padstow – the town is busy, but the beach is empty- especially the bit around Tregirls beach.  you just have to make the effort to walk there, as there is no parking around.  its beautiful and sunny, but the sea is freezing.

there are lots of places to stay in padstow no 6 middle street in padstow has a few rooms to rent, but the restaurant has very good food;  the same chef has now bought rojanos in padstow, which has a more casual menu, serving pizzas and pasta and apparently an amazing knickerbocker glory.  in fact its open all day for teas and coffees, so probably a nice place to stop by for a drink and break.

you can of course stay at numerous rooms owned by Rick Stein, very desirable, but pricey too.  a cheaperalternative is cally croft b and b – only a couple of rooms, but of a very high standard.  also try coswarth house b and b.

its a sad fact that most of the local amenties have disappeared from padstow, replaced by surf shops and boutique clothes shops, but fortunately there is still a local spar that sells some local produce, but there is a good local farm shop, Padstow Farm shop, which is a lovely 20 minute walk through country lanes that sells fresh meat and vegetables and a selection of jams and chocolate.

semana santa

Semana Santa is a magical time in Andalucia and Vejer celebrates in spectacular fashion. Good Friday sees a dramatic and moving procession as the whole town turns out to witness the local virgins being paraded by religious brotherhoods in full costume deep into the night. Then the local marching bands play in the streets before a major party takes over, culminating in the running of two wild bulls through the cobbled streets, as thousand watch, and a few join in.

Afterwards Vejer returns to its usual sleepy ways, so you can combine amazing folkloric events with a touch of hedonism and a lazy break, all against the backdrop of one of the oldest and most traditional houses in this beautiful ancient town.

www.andalucia-house-vejer.com

hotels in vejer and the surrounding area

Casa La Siesta is a  fairly new hotel in the countryside of Vejer, in a tiny hamlet Los parrallelos , is totally serene and grown up.  Completely newly built, but using beautiful old doors and all the local materials, it’s reminiscent of an old finca, and is so well executed its hard to believe that its not an old original place.  There are lovely terraces to sit and eat, a grassed pool area and the bedrooms are spacious and very comfortable.   The main reception is a lovely high ceilinged hall.   The only downside is that they don’t take children under 15 years of age.  Perfectly peaceful, and only 10 mins from both the sea and the town of Vejer with all its amenieties, its ideal for a getaway that requires total quietness.

havent been to this hotel, but it was highly recommended to me – looks stunning – one of those special places for a special time.  have a look at al aguilon- looks like my dream house.   situated near the wonderful dunes of tarifa – the natural beaches are unspoilt and perfect for surfing.

there is the fairly new hotel, siete balcones – a small boutique hotel, with only 4 rooms in a beautifully restored casa in the heart of the old town of Vejer de la Fronterra.

Hotel Hurricane – just outside of Tarifa is fantastically situated, beautiful outlook and right on the seafront.  rooms are quite standard, but who is going to spend their time in a hotel room.

friends also recommend 100% fun - sounds a bit of a naff name, but apparently its very good and again a short walk from the sea front and just outside of Tarifa – i think its the nearest you get to being in ibiza!

took a look at the rooms of sajorami, in zahora – again perfectly situated on the seafront, you get little cabins – quite like a chalet in switzerland – but very good value.

typical old floors

beaches of andalucia

have come out to vejer with some girlfriends to open up the house for the season – nobody been there since october, so lots of airing and washing of cushion covers to be done.  i am sure that we will find lots of time to visit the local beaches though and eat fresh fish.

my favourite beaches in andalucia are El Palmar – popular for surfing in the winter and our local beach to our village of Vejer de la Fronterra;   Zahora, hidden away, this natural beach is within a bay, so a bit more sheltered than the wider open beaches;  cabo de Trafalgar, is the famous beach from the battle of Trafalgar, totally unspoilt with nothing built on it – lots of kite surfers feequent this beach when the conditions are right for surfing;   Zahara de los Atunes is a  fishing village by the sea with a long windswept rugged beach, popular in the summer with tourists;  Canos de la Meca is  a smaller hippy beach, again a bit sheltered, but very busy in the summer;  Conil is more built up than the other beaches, but has a fantastic long wide beach and the sea is perfect for wave jumping;   Bologna is a great beach with the added attraction of some Roman ruins;  Tarifa is hip, young and a magnet for windsurfing and kite surfers, but also has the wonderful dunes nearby;  La Barossa has more hotels around, more built up, but again a fabulous long beach; San Lucar de la Barrameda is an old fishing village by the sea, famed for its seafood – its one of our favourite towns in spain – not at all trendy, just full of locals from jerez and seville.

of course, you are best to see them out of season, as July and August can be very busy with the local spanish escaping from the hot inner cities, but they are never as crowded as the beaches of Ibiza or Italy – and you certainly never have to pay to go on them.  the loveliest time is June and Sept, just warm enough to enjoy, but quiet enough to enjoy the untamed sandy beaches.  all the beaches mentioned are within an hours drive from our house in Vejer de la Fronterra

tarifa

cabo de trafalgar

el palmar

canos de la meca

the sportsman seasalter

what a beautiful weekend!  we went to whitstable, and how lucky we were – the sea was calm, there was no wind, there was a mist on the sea that rendered the horizon invisible – the stillness was just mesmerizing.

i popped into the usual shops and picked up lots of interesting bits, a sheer 50′s dress from vintage on sea, my favourite vintage stall right on the sea front – not only the cheapest, but most wearable and not so precious vintage dresses – this one was £20.   urbanista has a lovely collection of items, either all made in the uk, or are from fair trade sources – including bags from kenya and cashmere scarves.   you must pop into pearl and hemmingway, beautiful hand knitted kids berets and gorgeous retro hand knit tank tops and cardigans for kids.  whitstable fabric and haberdashery has everything you need to repair and update any dress, trimmings, fabrics, buttons, its what every high street should have!

maude and i had brunch in samphire - bacon and eggs on toast, perfect and not too expensive.  whitstable has to have so many good restaurants and delis (my favourite one being Williams and Brown), its hard to believe that you are unable to just walk in to some of the restaurants and get a table.  even the local thai, shangri-la restaurant couldnt do take away for 2 hours, it was so booked up!  thank goodness that we reserved the sportsman in seasalter in january!  a couple of friends came down and we drove to this remote pub at the end of seasalter – the site of a 17C inn, its isolated from all the other eating places in whitstable.  from first appearance its hard to believe that anyone would come all this way out to just eat dinner, but its definitely worth it.  unlike the stuffiness of other michelin star restaurants, this one is very informal, the food is chalked up on a board, but everything, including the 3 different types of bread to start is either homemade, sourced from local suppliers and tastes clean and fresh.  the desserts were just delicious, if apple sorbet, cream and shortbread is on your menu, then i highly recommend this.  for the high excellence of food, the price is reasonable and affordable, so get organised and book in advance!

on our way home, we decided to drive by the town of Rochester – about half an hour from whitstable but on the way back to london.  what a lovely historic town, beautiful cathedral and of course there is rochester castle to see.   of course its all very dickens  theme orientated as he had a house there – but its all quite charming.  i am still reading the never ending book by claire tomalin about dickens and i am amazed at how much he travelled and moved around in an era when transport was not so easy.

venice at hamiltons

this looks like a beautiful exhibition to see – photographs of Venice by Christopher Thomas.  (one of my readers recommended it to me, amazes me that he found a time when venice is so empty, he must have shot them just before dawn!  i have found that if you want to see the beautiful stillness of any city, get up at dawn and take a walk then).   makes me want to go there again – i would definitely go out of season to see Venice at its best – its too hot and smelly in the summer!

its a wonderful place to take children to, they are amazed by the canals, gondolas and lack of cars!  no matter how many times you go there, you always discover new alleys, cafes and squares – its a place for walking aimlessly around.    when we go with the children, we always stay at a friends apartment on the Giudecca, perfectly situated away from the hustle and bustle of tourist Venice, but close enough to be convenient.  its not an old style apartment, but one in a purpose built block, but its a good base with children.  contact Landsley  at landsley.ware@virgin.net for more details.  otherwise, if you are going for a romantic break, we always use Kirker Travel for our weekend breaks.  they put us in the wonderful Palazzo Stern, which is a beautiful 19C moorish palazzo directly on the Grand Canal – full of atmosphere!

see Guardian article by Robert Elms for Venice with kids

love in the time of cholera

well 3 planes home, 24 hours travelling, lots of sitting in airports and cafes – i managed to read half of the book, love in the time of cholera.  i have read it before, in fact 17 years ago, but my son bought me this book for xmas to take to read on our trip.  i had completely forgotten what an incredible writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez is – his poetic sentences suffuse the atmosphere, colour and heat of cartagena – the characters are compelling, the love and compassion deep.  if you have never read this story, i would urge you to give it a go – you dont need to have visited cartagena,  its a beautiful story of unrequited love that marquez profoundly tells with his usual humour and a touch of magic realism.  strangely, i have never read another of his books, but will definitely attempt to do so after this one.