Glyn didn't believe me when I suggested some r'n'r on our last day in Malta. We even overslept until 8.45am, things were getting crazy.As Malta isn't that big, we've not emptied the petrol tank despite zigzagging our way around the island and Gozo for 6 days. But today we decided to get petrol and this is not an obvious thing to do and a few of the pumps at the filling station were surrounded by confused tourists. Glyn finally sussed that you needed to park at a pump. go to a self service machine and feed it a note (no idea if it gave change), enter the pump number and then return to the pump where it filled your car with the value of petrol you had bought. First we put in €10, checked how far ... read more

We had originally booked a trip to go with a family run small company to Comino today. It cost a bit more but seemed worth it, however they had to cancel due to not working because of the elections this weekend. I don't understand the reasoning, but it meant we had to find an alternative. Captain Morgan Cruises are a lot cheaper, offer free food and drink (including booze and soft drinks) plus free (and as it turned out non-existent) wifi. But our hearts sank when we saw the giant over-crowded boat that turned up. Struggling to find a seat, I eventually bargained with an Italian group to get us two seats with a table upstairs that was open but covered, so with sun protection. I was still a bit dubious. In a nutshell, Captain Morgan ... read more

Anyone who regularly reads Glyn's blogs will know that he likes to accuse me of making him get up stupidly early when on holiday so we don't miss anything. But last night when discussing a time to set an alarm, he was horrified when I suggested 8am. Surely not, how about 7am he insisted? I pointed out that it was long past midnight and perhaps some sleep was needed. So he agreed to the 8am alarm saying he would wake earlier anyway. I woke at 7am and uploaded yesterday's blog photos whilst the lazy sod slept through until 7.50. In hindsight I should have gotten us up at 6am, given how long we waited before we actually got to board the Gozo ferry. That aside, after going to the Knickerbocker for tea, coffee and wifi, we ... read more

I'm sitting in our cheap hotel apartment (room 101 -yikes!), overlooking the pool with high fencing that is totally failing to obscure the crane to the left and building works behind it. Not that it matters to Glyn and me as we are usually out during the day. However, it did amuse me to see all the tourists grilling themselves earlier by the pool in what is a rather ugly setting complete with building noise and dust. Each to their own I guess. The seashore is about a minute's walk away with plenty of room to get over cooked there instead. As always when Glyn and I go away, the day started early and so we left at 2.30am to catch our 6.00am flight from Birmingham. We boarded the Ryanair craft all full of hope and ... read more

Flying across a frozen lake in a creaky wooden sled pulled by five energetic Arctic huskies that never want to be stopped has to be on everyone's bucket list. This is how I spent my morning in Rovaniemi and I can't recommend it highly enough. We woke at 6 after not the best nights sleep. The glass igloos seem very warm at first, but after a while tucked up in bed, Glyn asked me if I thought the heating was on.... Maybe not as I was curled up in a tight ball trying to stay warm. We were supplied with two single beds that are just a little small for sharing although sharing was needed. So I'd woken up a couple of times in the night but sadly not because the northern lights alarm had gone ... read more