Nell Grey's Blog, page 2

Free on Kindle for one more day

Destination: Wales. Meet the Morgans and their lives and loves in Freshwater Bay

The Strictly Business Proposal by Nell Grey is free on Amazon for one more day

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Highly recommend the whole series. Brilliant characters, with interesting and exciting plots. Beautifully set in Wales."

"Absolutely, charming, delightful books"

"Keeps you wanting more, fantastic."

Freshwater Bay - Read the Whole Series for Free

Kindle Unlimited is currently free for two months, and with no obligation to carry on the subscription, it means that you can read a whole heap of books for free, including all the Freshwater Bay novels.

If you loved The Strictly Business Proposal, why not give book two The Actor's Deceit a go, and take yourself back to beautiful Freshwater Bay?

Meet Gareth Morgan's brother Rhys and find out if he can win back the girl he loves, Ariana Jones:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZQSH6DJ

The Actor's Deceit

Free books

Corona Virus Lockdown Offer - Free books - download here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/lockdown...
Feel free to share.

Corona Virus Reads

Let's look on the bright side. Twenty days in isolation, what would your recommended absorbing, easy reading be?

I've started a list:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Free books - link to romance books

Because I'm a writer, I get lots of free books offered to me. Here's this week's selection which you can access free too.

Free romance books with this link:

Free romance books

Valentine's Gift for You

Valentine's Gift for You

The Strictly Business Proposal


This Valentine's weekend why not curl up and transport yourself to Freshwater Bay in Wales with The Strictly Business Proposal by Nell Grey. It's free on Amazon 13th-18th February.

Happy Reading!


Is Beth Barnes a beautiful con artist or the genuine friend of Evan Morgan, an elderly Welsh chef?
When Evan dies, he hands talented London chef Beth her big break. She has the chance to realise her dream and run her very own restaurant in a village on the wild Welsh Celtic coast. But there are strings attached. Can she comply and gain her inheritance, her dream?
Accused of being a gold digger by the family, Beth’s welcome to Wales is not quite as warm as she’d hoped for. Burned from a recent divorce, the last thing on architect Gareth Morgan’s mind is another wedding. If he wants to realise his development dreams, he must marry.It’s a strictly business proposal. But can Beth and Gareth really stick to the terms?

Greek Mainland Odyssey - Three Week Car Tour

Whenever we've been to Greece, it's always been to the islands. So in late September we bought cheap as chips air flights to Athens and hired a car for a month to roam around the mainland.

This is the route we did around Greece. There's a fair bit of driving involved, but what's nice about Greece is that there are plenty of small pretty seaside villages with pristine waters and great tavernas if the driving all gets a little too much. We generally booked places a night in advance. The season was finishing and accommodation was plentiful and cheap. We used booking online sites which gave us deals comparable and better than we could find by just turning up.

Our Three-Week Itinerary:

Athens to EpidaurusNafplionMonemvasiaGythioKardamiliOlympiaLefkadaPargaMetsovoKalabakaDelphiGalaxhidiAthens
We'd booked a hotel a few miles from the airport for the first night in a place called Porto Rafti. Just spend a moment, if you will, in our shoes. It's eleven pm. For some reason, the Google map app on my phone thinks I'm in Bootle. We're tired, not sure where we're going, the signs are literally all Greek to me, and like hire car companies the world over, this one is also unable to provide us with a decent map. In fact, the single page map they've given us is the crappiest one yet. It's a free-hand impressionistic sketch of about a quarter square mile of unlabelled roads around the hire car compound. Stuck in the corner is the Acropolis, which, if to scale, is the size of a Greek Island.The airport junction itself has complex signage onto motorways into and out of Athens and we find ourselves quickly committed to heading for the toll roads. We're doomed! Our only navigation balls-up of the tour and it happens in our first hour on Greek soil. Still, we got to pay fifteen euros to the nice man in the motorway toll booth that we saw three times as we drove up and down the same section, repeatedly missing our junction. And, we now know that Athens has an Ikea. We very nearly ended up sleeping in their car park. Glad we didn't; meatballs for breakfast would have been weird. Epidaurus Refreshed the next day, we drove through Athens on the motorway, pausing briefly at our favourite toll booth guy to give him a cheery Kalimera and another five euros. Athens was easy-peasy and we quickly got out onto the road towards Corinth, stopping to look down at the canal. Our first port of call was Epidaurus, and we weren't disappointed. This is a beautiful seaside town and so much more than the amphitheatre, which is a must-see on any tourist route.
Nafplion Nafplion was next on our list. It's apparently where Athenians like to go for weekends away. And I can see why. It's well-heeled and smart with quirky bars, restaurants and shops. The waters are perfect for swimming and there are magnificent views of the islands and shorelines across the Peloponnese. What's not to like? The parking. It's a bitch on a Saturday. But that's about it.
Monemvasia MonemvasiaThink of a mahoosive fort on a rock in the sea and you've got Monemvasia. The old town clings to the side of the cliff and you can climb up to the top of it all and gaze over the sea, pretending you're an ancient Greek scanning the horizon for enemy boats. Whilst the old town is cashing in on the tourist euro with upmarket hotels and restaurants hammered into the rock, the mainland town has a great selection of more budget tavernas and accommodation where you also get great views of the sunset.
GythioGythio This was the first non-touristic town on our travels. We stayed right on the harbour front and had some of the best food of the whole trip, with seafood that was super-fresh. It's also the town where Paris spent his first night of love with Helen of Troy after he'd whisked her away from Sparta. Whatever legend says, when you walk over to the scruffy little peninsula where they are meant to have 'done the deed', you can't help but wonder if she'd had a couple too many beers.
Kardamili This is a 'kick-back and relax' kinda place. We spent a few days swimming and enjoying the sunshine and the magnificent views. A short drive away is the Viros gorge where you can do some fabulous walks when the sun isn't too hot.
Olympia Feeling suitably refreshed, we headed back onto the ancient history trail and took a trip to Olympia. We didn't really know what to expect. And the history here, it's kinda complicated. With the concentration spans of small mammals, we're struggling to know our Mycenaean from our Punics. And the museums can be quite high-brow. No buttons to press or knobs to pull. But in spite of that, we did love Olympia. Standing in the middle of the vast site, even though most of it has crumbled, you still get a sense of the scale of the place. You can walk out onto the running track and wander around ruins of buildings which would have been the hospitality tents and athletes' training and relaxation areas. The place has two good museums and we particularly enjoyed the Olympic games museum, even though there were no knobs to pull (unless you count the naked statues). Don't expect too much of the town of Olympia itself. It's geared up to squeeze your wallet until the pips come out. Our budget hotel was a time-warp from the seventies and the restaurant food was disappointing.
Lefkada From Olympia, we headed up the coast and over the bridges to Lefkada, a large European marina resort with hundreds of yachts and some serious money bobbing about in the harbour. Strictly speaking, Lefkada is an island, and it has that same Greek island holiday mentality about it. It's bustling, touristy and a great place to people watch, but we didn't stay long. 
Parga From Lefkada, we headed to Parga, where I'd been twenty-something years ago as an interrailing student. It was back in the day too, as a student that I used to watch chat show host Montel Williams solving America's heart-aches every afternoon at three. Montel told them, "Never go back." Of course, he was referring to some feckless boyfriend. For me, though, it's become a life mantra. And I should have listened to myself this time too. Because, as lovely as it is now, Parga is forever ruined in my head. From the sleepy seaside village where I spent a chilled-out week camping by a picturesque cove, it's now transformed into a full-on international resort, crowded with package holiday-makers, even in October. As we squeezed our way past the parked coaches picking up their airport transfers, I was glad to escape. And your words are still true, Montel. I will never go back.
Metsovo KalabakaThe weather was becoming more mellow on the coast, and the further north we headed, the more layers we began to wear. By the time we landed in the mountain village of Metsovo, sandals and T-shirts were swapped for hiking boots and fleeces. It was cold. And quite a shock to be plunged straight into autumn. Metsovo's pretty enough, but a world away from the beautiful Peloponnese fishing villages we'd been to so far. The hotel felt like we were staying in someone's Alpine home as we crept self-consciously through the front reception area/living room past the grandmother making lace and chatting to three of her friends. They were definitely a different type of people up here. A tougher mountain breed who cooked hardy huge meals of meat and potato stew with melted cheese topping. I went to bed feeling too full to move only to face another avalanche of food the next morning as plate after plate was piled up before us on the breakfast table. It was typical of the mountain hospitality of these warm-hearted, stern-faced people.
Kalabaka Imagine pinnacles of mountains like flat table tops rising out above the clouds. Picture a string of ancient monasteries perched high on the hilltops, all with precarious access routes, steps and a rope bridge perhaps. Kalabaka is an iconic place. A once-in-a-lifetime you-gotta-go-to kinda place. It manages to combine the wonders of geology with the iconic culture of Greek orthodoxy. Look past the coach tours and the admissions tickets and take in the spectacle of this historic and ancient wonder.
Delphi Delphi I say Delphi you say Delfoi. Whatever it's called, this is another Greek wonder. Delphi itself is small, but surprisingly it isn't overridden by tourists. Most visitors arrive in loaded buses a mile further down at the archaeological site and spend a couple of hours there, before heading on to Olympia or back to the cruise ship.But it's nice to be here in Delphi itself when the coaches have gone. The evenings are quiet, but Delphi somehow feels special. It has an energy and an air about it. Whether it's history or something more cosmic, you can't deny that Delphi has pedigree. And after all, tribunes from all corners of the ancient world paid insane sums of money to ensure that they kept the Oracle sweet and got all the good karma that was promised to come their way.
Galaxhidi And finally, to our favourite place of all. So much so, I don't really want to write it down. But seeing as you've read this blog and we're friends now, I will let you into a secret. This beats every other spot we visited in Greece by a country mile. And it turns out that we've good taste, because it was the favourite rest-up of Greek sea captains too, many of whom chose to live here in between their sea voyages. There's not much in Galaxhidi, a couple of nice tavernas and a handful of shops selling local produce. But, what makes the place so special is the sea. The pastel-coloured town juts out as a peninsula from a sweeping bay, surrounded by the clearest turquoise waters. If I ever go to sea, it's Galaxhidi that I'll come home to, too.
Galaxhidi

Spring in Spain - Our Motorhome Route

There are few nicer things in the world, I have decided than ditching the cold British spring and heading off to Spain, where the sun is shining and great red wine comes in at under five Euros a bottle. And the wine in the boxes isn't bad, either. We did the trip in our camper van, staying in free stops in small towns and in off-peak campsites when we needed to use facilities.

This is the route we took:

We headed down through the middle of France to Collioure (had a few days on the way). Stopped in a carpark at the top of the hill, no facilities but worth the stop. Collioure is beautiful.
Collioure
Then, took the coastal road into Spain towards Roses. An iconic coastal drive of spectacular clifftops and hairpins. You've got to do it!

Stayed near Torroella de Montgri right in the heart of Catalan. Took bike rides to L'Estartit and enjoyed spending time in this interesting part of Spain.

We avoided Barcelona and headed to Peniscola. Had a depressing night jammed-up on a caravan park with a hundred leather-skinned retired Northern Europeans. The experience put us off coastal Spain.

Headed for the hills and re-kindled our love of Spain in Campell, high in the hills surrounded by the almond and lemon blossom. Paradise.
Campell
We stopped to visit friends and spent the weekend in Biar, inland from Alicante, a place that knows how to put on a good Medieval festival. Absolutely fabulous.

Then we headed back into the hills, visiting Alhama de Murcia and spending a wonderful few days walking in the national park Sierra Espuna. We stayed in a well-serviced campsite in El Berro.

From there we head back towards the coast and Cabo de Gato. Once the home of spaghetti westerns, it's now the home to some serious plastic, with poly-tunnels across the whole landscape as far as the eye can see. We escaped after a night and found a little haven, La Mamola, a place on the Med for Spanish weekending families and a world away from the bronzed wintering caravaners up the coast.

From there, we visited Granada and then spend a couple of days in the Sierra Nevada, before heading then across via Olvera to Puerto de Santa Maria, ready for a few days in Cadiz.
Cadiz is fantastic. Try out the fresh fish and explore the markets and the tapas. Then go to the sherry towns. We stayed in a low key campsite by the beach and biked into Sanlucar de Barrameda and Chipiona. It was a beautiful part of Spain, well off the caravan and wintering tourist track. It was warm, really beautiful and excellent for cycling.
Cadiz Beach
Sadly, it was time to head back North. We stopped overnight in Zafra, the start of our bullring stays. Then on to the Roman ruins of Merida and small town Truijillo for another night at the bullring. We kicked back for a couple of days in the Montefrague National Park where we went birding, or vulturing to be precise. We took a guide and saw an amazing array of big vultures, buzzards, storks and eagles.
North afterwards, to the amazing city of Segovia. Another free bullring stopover. If you want to know what the Romans ever did for us, take a trip there.
Then through Arnedillo to Estella, the only place in the world with a free wine fountain. Set in a vineyard for pilgrims of the Santiago way (but take a plastic cup and hobble up to it in walking boots and no one will know.)
At last, we reached the end of our month's journey and took the ferry back to Blighty from Santander.
Stunning Roman engineering in SegoviaTips:
It's definitely worth investing in the ACSI card to get big discounts on camping,Don't bother with the toll roads in Spain if there are free motorways alongside.Get an app for free camping spots. Spain has a whole host of park up options in small towns and camper-vans are embraced.

Three Weeks: Down the Mekong from Thailand's Golden Triangle to Laos

Fly away from the beaches and explore Northern Thailand and Laos' beauty and fascinating history.

Our 3 week itinerary:
Chiang Mai - 2 daysChiang Rai 3 days including day trip to Golden Triangle border area of ThailandMekong Cruise from Laos border - 2 daysLuang Prabang - 3 daysVeng Vieng - 3 daysVentiane - 2 daysPakse - 1 dayIslands of Mekong - 3 days
Chiang Mai provides the perfect place to kick back and enjoy the modern amenities and restaurants of this well-serviced city. Stay a while longer and use it as a base for exploring the mountains and hills surrounding Chiang Mai.
We took the bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai. You can book your tickets online for the Green Bus and pick them up via a code at the local Seven Elevens.
For a beautiful detour and spend a little longer by travelling to Pai, around 90 miles northwest of Chiang Mai.
Chiang Rai is a rambling small city north of Chiang Mai. It's less smart than its neighbour but more interesting in many ways. We took a tour and explored the amazing temples in the region. These are very much on the tour bus trail, but worth a visit, especially the white temple. From here, we did a day trip and travelled up to the Myanmar border to discover the Golden Triangle region. We booked the next leg of our journey, the two day Mekong Cruise to Luang Prabang from our hostel in Chiang Rai. 
The tour operator we chose for our Mekong Cruise picked us up from our hostel and took us to the Lao border where he looked after us all the way to our cruise boat. It was budget and well-organised. We'd already booked our night in Pakbeng via Booking.com and so had no problems with the accommodation in this overnight stop, which is renowned for being a bit of a tourist rip-off. The cruise took two days and facilities are a little limited, although they have plenty of beer and will stop for more if they run out. It was a great cultural experience, full of fellow travellers.
Luang Prabang is lovely. Its French history pervades every corner of this well-heeled town. The place is a comfortable base for exploring the beautiful parks and countryside around there, particularly the Kuang Si Falls. One absolute must place to visit is the UXO Luang Prabang Centre. It provides a fascinating and grim insight into the troubled history of Laos through the Vietnam War and the impact of that which still lasts today in the millions of unexploded ordnance plastered all over Laos. It's a sad tale of the West's impact on this beautiful country.
From Luang Prabang we organised a bus through our hotel to take us to Vang Vieng. The roads in Laos are quite varied. Even the main routes oscillate between tarmac sealed roads and dirt potholed tracks, so be prepared. 
Vang Vieng is the activity centre of Laos. It's more chilled than Luang Prabang and a little rougher around the edges. The town boasts lots of water activities, climbing and hot-air ballooning. It's a great place to relax for a few days.
If you have a chance, talk to the locals and learn more about Laos' communist roots. In the towns you will see tannoys on the telegraph poles. These are for party official announcements and music.
From Vang Vieng we booked a ticket to Ventiane and then on to Pakse. From Pakset you can explore the islands of the Mekong Delta. We travelled on a few miles to the border and crossed without any difficulty into Cambodia. From the border you can then travel by bus to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh.

Ten Day tour: Marrakech, Mountains and Desert

Ten Day Marrakech and Atlas Mountains and Desert Tour


Flight to Marrakech2 days in Marrakech. Visit the souk and the medina, the palaces and gardensDrive through the high Atlas mountainsVisit Ait Ben Haddou, Unesco World Heritage siteStay in Morocco's Hollywood - Ouarzazarte - visit Atlas StudiosTravel via the Valley of the Roses to stay in Tinghir and visit a traditional Berber villageVisit the Todra GorgeTravel to MerzougaBook overnight stay in Sahara and the desert camp at Erg ChebbiTake a long drive back to Marrakesh or drop down to Agadir
We booked our 3 day trip from Marrakesh with Ando Travel for around 100 Euros. I'd love to know about your experiences in Morocco and this trip if you've done it.

Tips:
Go in May and visit the Rose Festival - Valley of the Roses, El Kelaa M'Gouna (near Tinghir), Dades Valley.
Every May 3-4,000 tonnes of wild roses are harvested each day before dawn. The majority are destined to be made into rosewater or oils for French perfumeries. Rose oil commands £10,000 per litre but with 1.6 million flowers per litre, that's a lot of picking. The culmination of the harvest is a traditional feast where local boys and girls can get married. The local traditions dictate that a boy needs to meet a girl's parents to ask for her hand in marriage. The girl makes mint tea for her parents. If the tea is sweetened it means that she likes the boy and if there is no sugar in it she doesn't.
​