Michael Harling's Blog, page 8

Orkney

I liked Orkney better. That’s not to say Shetland isn’t worth a visit—it certainly is—but Orkney just had that little something extra, like trees. There are no trees on Shetland, as the soil is too thin and the weather too severe. Also, the area of Shetland where we mostly stayed was the lower part of the main island that is about 20 miles long and 3 miles wide, so you were always aware of being on an island (other parts of Shetland are available), whereas Orkney had the aforementioned trees, ro...

Shetland

The bus taking us on the Shetland and Orkney tour conveniently picked us up around the corner from our hotel, and as it wasn’t due until 11:45 am (and the Premier Inn had a noon Check-out time), we had a nice relaxing morning. The bus arrived on time, picked up the first passengers, and headed off. We picked up more people in Edinburgh and got to the boat by 5:00 pm for our overnight trip to Shetland.

I was looking forward to sleeping on the ship, because I recalled sleeping on my buddy’s boa...

Glasgow, Again

We hadn’t been on holiday for almost two weeks, so we flew up to Glasgow. The flight was depressingly uneventful (from a journalistic point of view) and mercifully short. We left Horsham on the 7AM train and got to our hotel at lunchtime. Unfortunately, we couldn’t check in until 3PM, so we went walkabout.

My bus ride to work took longer than this flight.

Glasgow is a clean, friendly, accessible city, though the locals told us there are places we shouldn’t go after dark, but you can say...

Stealth Hazard

My wife and I just returned from our postprandial ramble around our lovely park. We were on our way home, walking down a narrow pavement (US: Sidewalk) when, in order to manoeuvre around a lamp post, I stepped into the road. Normally, I would have stepped into the middle of the pavement, but my wife was there, so I took the easy route. Good thing I did.

As soon as I stepped aside, a woman in a four-wheel drive, handicap humvee zoomed by. There was no time to react. It was just a whoosh and sh...

Portugal – Part III

We got off to a late start on Sunday, the 21st of May, not leaving the Pousada de Viseu until 10:30. Still, we managed to get to our first stop, Aveiro, by noon.

Aveiro is known as the Venice of Portugal; it was lovely, picturesque, and crowded with tourists.

Did they call it the Venice of Portugal, before they brought the gondolas in,
or were the gondolas there first, so people would call it
The Venice of Portugal. Chicken, egg, and all that.

These were everywhere, and they really ...

Portugal – Part II

On Friday, 19 May, we left the Pousada de Queluz and travelled to Obidos. It was a pretty place, with a castle, ancient walls, and a Roman aqueduct.

Obidos Main Street

The town and the Roman wall.

We had a walk around, then headed for Coimbra, where they have a big university. We annoyed the students for a while, then went into the town where we visited a croissant café and wandered the narrow streets looking into shops.

The University.

The view.

The shops.

...

Portugal – Part I

Tuesday, 16 May 2023: Getting There

Travel days are always fraught with angst, brought on by the certainty that somehow, somewhere, something is sure to go wrong. And it usually does. That’s why we like traveling with an organized tour, because no matter how badly the traveling goes, you can be sure that someone will greet you at the other end.

This time, however, it was the greeting at the other end that went wrong.

We made the train (no strikes), the plane took off on time (no drama o...

Coronation Tea

“Coronation Coffee” would have been the perfect alliterative title for this post but, alas, that was not to be, for we are—having just finished watching the Coronation—making our way into town, through the rain, hoping to find a cordial café, and a nice cup of tea.

The Coronation has been, well, everywhere, these past few weeks, coming to a crescendo this morning as the actual event unfolded. As an American, I’m a bit of a Royalist, but I couldn’t be arsed to care about the crowning of Charli...

Cancelled

When life hands you lemons,
write a blog post about it.

My Hand-Made Journal empire is not getting off to a good start.

Despite selling a few to close friends, I have had no on-line orders, and initial explorations of possible local outlets have been rebuffed. But, not to worry, there are many more options to try. And there is always eBay.

I used eBay a lot when I lived in the States, where I off-loaded a lot of junk (I mean, items surplus to my requirements that someone else would certa...

Being Small

I have been small all my life—from a comically tiny child to a diminutive adult—and I have never felt at a disadvantage (aside from pay: statistics show that an extra inch of height translates to an average of $1,000 more annual income, therefore, someone who is 6 feet tall earns, on average, about $210,000 more during a 30-year career than someone who measures 5 feet 5 inches) and have, instead, enjoyed the advantages. I can fit comfortably into an “economy” airline seat, for example, even if I...