by Gary / 0 comments - Orginally published:28th December 2018

A review of our year

Now, this is not a self-indulgent look back on how much we've achieved, this is not about us. It's about the trips we took, the lessons we learnt, and hopefully, inspire you for your travels.

We start close to home.

One of the things we have taken on-board is to see your world through the eye of a tourist, therefore you don't need to go a million miles to explore a whole new world.

So let's get started

The Pin image for our post - 'Our 2018, and another magical year'
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The stunning Gullfoss waterfall captured in mid-March with ice still remaining around the edges. A must-see on Iceland's Golden Circle.
Gullfoss with Ice and snow, Iceland

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It starts with our city - London

As a Christmas gift, Janis bought me tickets to see a West End show, a perfect excuse to spend a few days in the capital.
The entrance to the Playhouse Theatre in central London advertising the 'Glengarry Glen Ross' production
Glengarry Glen Ross at the Playhouse Theatre

The show was the brilliant, 'Glengarry Glen Ross' with a star-studded cast, purchased through 'LoveTheatre', but that was just the one highlight of the weekend.

We love exploring London; its history is so often in plain sight. Take for example the Inns of Court, when practising law was banished to outside the walls of the City of London. More of that in 'From the Bar to the Temple'

A pathway leading to the brick chambers of the Middle Temple in London's legal district
Inside Middle Temple - just outside the City of London boundary
While strolling the streets of London, you may notice blue plaques on the wall noting famous people - Actually, they're not all blue, but there's a story there though.
A close-up of a historic Blue Place to Herman Meville, author of Moby Dick, who lived in this building in 1849
Who knew?, Blue Plaques tell a story

Why not check out 'The Round Blue Plaques of London'

We were lucky that in 2018 the capital was celebrating the 2nd Lumiere light festival, so we headed out after dark to discover 'The Lighting of London'. It brought a bit of sparkle to the winter nights.

An illuminated hedgehog family as part of the Lumiere London art project in London during the winter of 2018
The Hedgehog family in Lumiere London - 2018

It may have been cold, wintery, with sleet in the air, but that didn't temper Janis's enthusiasm for a cemetery. So before we left the city, we headed to one of London’s “Magnificent Seven”, Brompton Cemetery.

It took us a while to locate the last resting place of the suffragette - Emmeline Pankhurst, but we were not going to leave before we had.

It may have been cold, wintery, with sleet in the air, but that didn't temper Janis's enthusiasm for a cemetery. So before we left the city, we headed to one of London’s “Magnificent Seven”, Brompton Cemetery.

It took us a while to locate the last resting place of the suffragette - Emmeline Pankhurst, but we were not going to leave before we had.

The Main Avenue, Brompton Cemetery, historic london, magnificent seven cemetery, things to see in london
The Main Avenue, Brompton Cemetery, London
Boy was it cold that day, but it was nothing compared to the next trip - the Land of Fire & Ice.

We have a little book on our shelves that we sometimes delve into when we're about to hit an area of London.

Packed full of historical facts, and broken down into the different regions of London, it's a great resource to help you see what's hidden in plain sight.

Available in Kindle & Hardback editions, it's an excellent addition to anyone's collection who loves London.

Iceland, a return for unfinished business.

I'd long wanted to return to Iceland, but this time with the hope of seeing the Northern Lights.
Iceland's route one crossing a spit of land, with water on both sides, towards ice-capped mountains
Just outside Breiðdalsvík, Iceland
However, you have to be realistic, there are no guarantees on seeing the phenomenon, so the plan was to build a road trip to see as much of the country in just under two weeks.
A small red boat moored up in a tiny Hjalteyri harbour in the north of Iceland
A boat moored up in Hjalteyri harbour
It was fair to say it was one fabulous trip - you can read more about our epic road trip if you'd like.
A side profile of Janis behind the wheel of our hire care as we pass through a snowy landscape
Janis driving Etta in Iceland
Oh, we got lucky too.
A band of green lights of the Northern Lights over the mountains just outside Reykjahlíð in Eastern Iceland
The Northern Lights outside Reykjahlíð
Now we needed a bit of warmth - next stop Portugal.

If you're tempted to tour the Land of Fire and Ice and would love to discover the whole country, then take a look at this  DK Eyewitness book. This Top 10 Pocket Travel Guide is invaluable, I find them extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into searching for more.

You can now grab the revised copy.

Our Portuguese Road Trip

After our trip to Lisbon in 2016, we wanted more of Portugal.
A stairway built into the sandstone rocks at the Ponta da Piedade, leading to the azure blue waters of the Algarve at the southern tip of Portugal
The stairway at Ponta da Piedade, Algarve
There were the obvious places that made the list such as Porto and the Algarve, but we wanted to discover more.
A lit square after dark in Guimarães, Portugal where diners sit at restaurants lining the square and others walkthrough the historical old town.
Largo da Oliveira at night, Guimarães
So our Portuguese Road Trip turned into a nine-stop whirlwind tour, where we explored as much of the country as we could in 2 weeks.
The view from the base of the steps at Bom Jesus do Monte to the chapel 116 metres or 381 feet above, in the heart of portugal that we visited as part of our portuguese road trip.
The view from the bottom, Bom Jesus do Monte
As we had caught the ferry and driven through Spain to get there, we wanted to include one stop on the way back in a country we had come to love, and we chose León.
An elderly gentleman is standing next to the waist-high bronze town sign for León in Northern Spain.
You're in León

Our recent new found love is Portugal, it is such a beautiful country. While planning our trip, I used the DK Eyewitness books. I find them extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into discovering more.

We used a previous version of this book to plan our north to south Portuguese road trip, now you can grab the revised copy.

A gathering in Rotterdam

A blogging conference took us to our next destination, and one we had discounted over the years - Rotterdam.
The iconic bright yellow cube houses are set against a blue sky with fluffy clouds in Rotterdam, Holland
The Cube Houses, Rotterdam
We thought it's a bit too industrial, maybe a bit too urban: We were wrong!
The decorated ceiling of the Market Hall in Rotterdam above its food market.
Inside the Market Hall

It's a fabulous city, and we loved learning its history, soaking up its culture and diving into the chic side of the city.

Looking for an alternative to Amsterdam? You really should consider Rotterdam, it makes a great mini-break.

Ypres, and the road to Remembrance

Always part of our plans for 2018, and on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice at the end of the 'Great War'.
Looking through the red brick & cream stone archway of the Menin Gate in Ypres to the bell tower of the Cloth Hall in the distance
The Menin Gate, Ypres
As we had crossed the channel for Rotterdam, it seemed the ideal time to visit Ypres, the battlefields and the Tyne Cot cemetery.
A grassy trail between mature trees and an undulating landscape carved out of the battlefields of world war I.
Hill 60, Belgium
An emotional trip, but we were so pleased we undertook it.
The Commonwealth War Graves Cross of Sacrifice on top of a German bunker in the Tyne Cot cemetery near Passchendaele, Belgium
The Cross of Sacrifice on top of the Tyne Cot

Amiens, France

Following on from Ypres we headed across along the Somme, to the capital of the Picardy region, Amiens.
The quayside in the centre of amiens, france, at dusk, with restaurants lining one side
The Quai Bélu at dusk

We love France; it's history, culture and its flavours.

Amiens was a perfect end to a trip that started in Rotterdam, and of course, we had to end with the ultimate traveller - Jules Verne.

The Dewailly clock in the centre of amiens just after dusk with the notre-dame cathedral in the background
The Dewailly clock

An English Road Trip

We love our country, but we are guilty of not exploring enough of it. Since we started blogging, we decided to put that right, and this year was no different. A friend's birthday placed us west of London, so we thought, let's explore a little more.
A small pleasure boat heading under the Henley Bridge in front of the The Angel on the Bridge pub in Henley on Thames
The Angel across the Thames, Henley-on-Thames
The first stop, on the way to the historical city of Oxford, was Henley-on-Thames, just a week before the Royal Regatta.
The 18th-century neo-classical domed-circular Radcliffe Camera in the centre of Oxford
The Radcliffe camera, Oxford
Being in Oxford placed us on the edge of the Cotswolds, so we spent a couple of days exploring this beautiful area of the country, before heading onto the home of the William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Looking down 'The Street' in the picturesque village of Castle Combe in Wiltshire
The Street, Castle Combe in the Cotswolds, Wiltshire
Little rowing boats moored up on the River Avon, with the Holy Trinity church in the background, in Stratford-upon-Avon
The river Avon, with the Holy Trinity church in the background, Stratford-upon-Avon
In the summer of 2018, which will go down on record as being just perfect, this was Britain at its finest.

Wimbledon

Another British Summer, another trip to Wimbledon. Janis and her mother escape for another jaunt to SW19 to take in the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
A clear plastic beaker with domed lid and straw, full of Pimms and lemonade, held aloft in front of a game of tennis at the centre court of wimbledon during the finals.
Pimms and Lemonade at Wimbledon
Janis also shared how you could get your hands on those Wimbledon Tickets.

Dover Castle

With the great British summer actually turning out to be great we headed into Kent and broke out our English Heritage cards to visit the historic Dover Castle. The story of this site is terrific with its Roman Lighthouse to its wartime tunnels.
Dover Castle's outer walls draped with the standards of Henry II, and flying the flags of English Heritage & the Union Flag.
The inner walls of Dover Castle
Then a short drive along the white cliffs and you come across Capel-le-Ferne and the Battle of Britain Memorial. This site is dedicated to those of Fighter Command who kept the enemy at bay during World War II.
The rear view of the centrepiece statue of a seated airman overlooking the English Chanel at the Battle of Britain Memorial
Looking out over the White Cliffs, Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne

The French Road Trip

September 2018 marked 30 years since Janis & I met at a concert. So to celebrate we decided to return to a trip we first undertook in 2012 and headed back to the south of France.
A bright square, called Place Favier, in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence under the dappled shade with a couple of colourful red tables and chairs, under parasols, of a local restaurant.
A lttle restaurant in Place Favier, St Remy-de-Provence
This 2018 Tour de France mixed up some old favourites with some new locations, and it didn't disappoint.
two small motor boats moored on the lake annecy on a beautiful sunny, but hazy, day in september
Moored on the Lake, Annecy

I love nothing more than planning a trip through France and so often I use the DK Eyewitness books.  I find them extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into discovering more.

We used a previous version of this book to plan our French road trips, now you can grab the revised copy.

A French day trip

A trip that came a little out of the blue. Eurotunnel had an offer on, a mid-week day trip crossing for £25. Too good to be true. But where to go? Then we hit on an idea.

It was close to the 100th year of the end of World War I.

We live in a small village in Kent, as with all towns & villages in Britain, there's a war memorial. Ours has 33 names of those who fell in the 'Great War'.We did a little research, and located the memorials for those in France and set about tracking them down.

The Eccles War Memorial and Clock, Eccles
The Eccles War Memorial and Clock
We visited nine cemeteries across Northern France to remember those on the Eccles War Memorial.
The Memoria Wall either side of the Cross of Sacrifice at the Loos Military Cemetery, France
The cross of sacrifice in Loos Memorial

The German Christmas markets

Our final trip of the year was a return to Germany and the Christmas Markets.
The Christmas Tree in front of the illuminated Brandenburg Gate at dusk.
The tree in front of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

We planned this early on in 2018, as we always do with the Christmas markets, we wanted to drive, and we wanted to go to Berlin.

So we created a four destination route, starting with Bremen, before heading across to Berlin, back to Hamburg before our 11th year in Cologne.

A group of people in front of a small, brightly lit, children's Ferris wheel.
The little Ferris-wheel, Bremen
The decorative illuminated entrance gates to Hamburg's Weihnachtsmarkt Christmas market at night with the Rathaus tower in the edge of the shot.
An entrance to Rathaus Market, Hamburg
Looking over the red rood tops of the huts of cologne's dom christmas market at night with the central christmas tree and it's blanket of twinkling fairy lights
A view over the Dom Market in Cologne
As always it didn't disappoint, although we haven't put together our plans for 2019 - yet!

So that's it

It has been a fabulous year, and when we write this review, it just reminds us of how good it is to travel.

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