Resting around Europe

Hello again. It’s quite some time since I wrote anything and I think it’s time to put fingers to keyboard again. Since I got back from South America I have not been stationary too long but I also have not really done anything that warranted a day by day account.

After enjoying the confort of my own bed for a week or so I des ended to Italy where between friends and family three weeks flew in a second. Back in possession of my motorbike I then set sail for the north taking the opportunity to detour a bit through the French riviera and, for the first time in my life, through Barcellona.

20160407_181206 — Glasgow’s landmarks rekindled.

20160407_190736 — Clouds are never far from the Clyde but sometime they add to charm.

20160408_125024 — Looking through the random stuff that I collected in South America

20160409_143300 — And more landmarks, in the background that is.

Within a week or getting to Glasgow I’m on my way again, down to Italy to get to better weather and a fill of friends and family.

20160426_213613 — Off to Italy and out with the friends of old.

20160425_123435 — To see my millennial sis.

20160509_165850 — And watching a scary movie with the next generation.

Some good food, the motorbike serviced, and I’m off again, taking a long way round route back to the UK. Modena, Alessandria, Cannes, Barcellona, Biarritz, Le Mans, Calais and then, finally, home.

20160512_103601 — Cannes and the glamour of the film festival.

20160512_111809 — The splendid coast of southern France

20160513_162943 — The roof of a covered marked in Barcellona

20160517_231656 — Stopping in Biarritz, with little JD left but with a full bottle of red.

20160519_141006 — On, actually, under the Channel.

Three days in London, where they broke into the panniers of my bike. Then off to the north stopping along the way to see a whole lot of people. Riding through England on the way to Scotland can be a truly stunning experience.

20160523_161521 — Splendid bluebells in the Peak District.

20160523_162021 — Less stunning rain clouds approaching Holmfirth

20160525_103106 — Hypnotic rapeseed in the fields of Yorkshire.

20160525_122354 — And then across the border.

It’s the beginning of June and I have a few days before heading south again for Shirley’s and Andy’s wedding. Turns out that Scotland is serving some spectacular weather which, to date, has not been repeated. Let’s hope my fellow Scots will get some after I leave for North America.

20160526_102454 — There are some great things that you cannot take with you while travelling, but you can enjoy when home.

20160529_150613 — I might be biased, but nothing beats Scotland in the good weather.

20160529_151629 — The bluebells under the trees around Loch Lomond are just perfect.

20160529_152805 — The hills and the glens are just as good as the lochs.

20160530_142203 — And as soon as the temperature climbs beyond 15º C in Glasgow the word is “Taps aff”

20160530_142459 — In Kelvingrove park people are bbqing and sunbathing.

And then it’s time to head south for the wedding, and an excellent opportunity to get the kit on. Andy and Shirley are getting married and I have to make a reading, not exactly being a great public speaker, I am a bit tense but, luckily it all goes smooth. the rest of the wedding is just perfect, I really love my English family, even if they are English.

20160603_154852 — Not the only Scot there though.

20160603_155605 — The splendid next generation.

20160603_155140 — And I was upstaged by Andy’s shoes.

20160603_193442 — The bride’s speach, how novel, funny and witty.

20160603_191515 — Uncle Jimmy’s speech, as good as billed.

The tragic aftermath of the wedding was that quite a few of us got really drunk, only one of us however had to ride a motorbike 100 miles north on the motorway the day after. The NZ two, Mary and Hamish, follow me and will spend a fe days up here, all the while blessed by some spectacular weather.

20160604_174253 — Some traditional celt music in Buchanan Stret.

20160604_183900 — And around Glasgow University

20160604_183907 — Truly great to see the quadrangle in the sun.

And now only three weeks to the big leap across the Atlantic, just time to pop over to Iceland for a little hiking.

Resting around Europe

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