England to France: The Chunnel

“Relax, we’ll drive”: Driving on a train

It was time for a return crossing of the English Channel.  In a few days we’d drop our leased Renault Kangoo at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport.  On the way to Britain we’d

England: Canterbury

Inside the choir of Canterbury’s cathedral

At the extreme southeast corner of Britain is England’s premier cathedral city, Canterbury.  As a rule a UNESCO-listed cathedral is more than enough reason for us to

England: Crewe Hall

Needing a place to stay near Biddulph in the “Midlands” of England we discovered Crewe Hall.  Crewe Hall is an historic mansion ten minutes to the east of Crewe in Cheshire. 

France: Caen

Église Saint-Pierre (HDR)

Our travel plans mandated a stop in or near Caen France.  On the English Channel (or la Manche as it is called in French), Caen is the largest town near Ouistreham, our point of

France: Angers

Angers’ castle

“Becky Angers France”

Spain: Segovia

El Acueducto in Segovia

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve always liked the sound of the name “Segovia”.  “Se-go-vi-a” rolls off the tongue with a pleasing velvety smoothness.  The agreeable

Spain: Ávila

Ávila’s walls

Our road route from Salamanca to Seqovia took us near Ávila Spain.  Guidebooks say that Ávila is famous for its imposing medieval walls, the most complete fortifications in Spain. 

Spain: Salamanca

Vaulting high above Salamanca’s nave

Leaving Portugal we headed off to Spain via the modern freeway system.  Breezing by at the side of the motorway were the oak forest grazing grounds for free-range black-footed

Portugal: Alto Douro

Heading to the Douro River

Where do the grapes come from?

Portugal: Porto

A tram rolls through Porto’s streets

Twenty years ago during a particularly pleasant work related boondoggle I visited Porto Portugal for the first time.  Though I include the stop on my travel resume, the visit was