The Spanish Fly - Travels in Spain

By The Spanish Fly

Not a punishment at all, rather a pleasure. I like to travel, although I'm not so keen on long-haul.

Perhaps because of my background in foreign languages, I developed a real wanderlust from my late teens onwards.

As a result, over the course of half a century I've clocked up a surprising number of capital cities, thirty-four, in fact.

Surprising for me, a working class lad from the sticks. Others, like my younger brother, Simon, or my friend Nick, will no doubt scoff and say: "Is that all?"

Well .....

In Part One I wrote about the 18 European mainland capitals I've been to. 

Here's Part Two - The Rest of the World. 16 more capital cities I have visited.

Mediterranean

Ajaccio, Corsica - a two-week holiday with the family in the late 90s.

Corfu Town, Corfu, Greece - a two-week holiday with the family in the late 90s.

Eivissa/Ibiza Town, Ibiza - Jeryl and I spent a week on the island in 1975. Not too touristy back then. That's where we first discovered el nudismo, nude swimming and sunbathing. Illegal, but tolerated.

Heraklion, Crete - We went to Crete a couple of times during our "Hellenic phase". Once before kids, and once after.

Great island. Heraklion is quite stunning (see photo).

Loved the walk through the Samaria Gorge, and the best breakfast ever afterwards!

The fabulous sandy beaches on the south coast were empty (back then!). Nudism was very popular.

Mahón, Menorca - I was in a wheelchair/on crutches for this family holiday in 1989. I'd ruptured my Achilles tendon playing squash a month or so before. We had a great holiday, despite the restrictions imposed by my "accident".

Strangely, most people seemed to think I was also mentally disabled. They didn't speak to me direct, but asked my wife what was wrong wirh me!

We spent loads on that holiday: a hire car and lots of meals out, but it was worth it - one of my best family holidays ever!

Mahón is the home of mahonesa/mayonesa, by the way.

Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca - I've been to Palma a few times over the years.

With my first wife Jeryl when we were in our 20s; on a family holiday, way back in the 80s; to attend a conference/training week with LifePlus in 2009; 

and again with soon-to-be-wife Rita at Easter 2010.

Rhodes Town, Rhodes - The second-largest Greek island. Jeryl and I went on holiday with two friends, Ian and Christine. 

We still see Ian and Christine most years, as they love to holiday in Nerja, Andalucia, where we often join them for a couple of days.

San Francesc de Formentera, Formentera - Jeryl and I caught the ferry from Ibiza and spent the day there. Totally unspoilt back then (early 80s).

Valletta, Malta - Jeryl and I spent our delayed honeymoon on the island in 1975. Jeryl hadn't had time to get her passport changed. As a result we got some funny looks when we checked into our hotel. Different times!

We returned many years later, when Jeryl attended a conference there.

A dusty place where local drivers don 't have a clue! Nudism is tolerated.

Victoria, Gozo - Just north of Malta, we went to the island for the day on that first visit in 1975. Charming and undeveloped.

Scandinavia

Copenhagen, Denmark -  A short weekend visit in the 1980s. The Little Mermaid is lovely.

Oslo, Norway - Also a weekend visit in the '80s, tacked onto a business trip. Very cold, very expensive, but very beautiful.

Stockholm, Sweden - A third weekend visit in the 80s. Don't remember much about this trip.

Eastern Europe

Moscow, Soviet Union/Russia - We were invited to The Soviet Union in 1991 by Russian friends who had stayed with us in Warrington the year before. I was still recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, our kids were very young, seven and three, but we managed it and had a good time. Moscow was stunning, I have to say. Red Square, St Basil's Cathedral and The Kremlin are amazing.

The 'highlight' of our trip was when the coup d'etat took place on 19 August. We were staying in a mountain camp in what is now Georgia. We woke to martial music on the radio and a very sombre mood in our host family, Sacha and Rita. We were trapped, no vehicle movements were allowed and all Soviet airports were shut. We were due to fly home in the next few days. I started making plans to escape over the mountains into Turkey and to fly home from there.

Then it was all over. After two days Boris Yeltsin clamboured onto a tank in Moscow and saved the day. Life more or less returned to normal (NOT, I suspect, for those who had organised the coup!) and we we were able to fly home as planned.

The Soviet Union started to break up over the course of the next few months. Soviet after soviet declared independence until by 8 December 1991 The USSR had ceased to exist.

Prague, Czech Republic - Our visit to Prague was another based around a business trip. Amazingly, at the same time our daughter Amy was touring there with her Oxford University Orchestra. Amy is an oboeist.

Prague is in my top two favourite capital cities alongside Edinburgh (qv). What a beautiful place, from the Charles Bridge over the Danube to the Old City, the 63 churches in the historical centre alone, and, of course, the beer!

We saw Amy perform and visited some famous brewhouses.

Macaronesia

Funchal, Madeira - A beautiful island. No sandy beaches, but who cares? Went way back in the mists of time. 

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - We love the Canary Islands. We used to visit a lot back in the day. Of the seven islands in this archipelago, off the west coast of Morocco, we have been to five. Las Palmas is the capital of the eastern three islands: Gran Canaria, Formentera and Lanzarote.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife - We've been to Tenerife more than any other Canary Island. We've stayed in the north and in the south, we've visited Mount Teide, the highest mountain on Spanish territory, and we've attended a wedding in La Orotava (see here).

Santa Cruz is the capital of the four western islands: El Hierro, La Gomera, La Palma and Tenerife.

Asia

Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Our group had an overnight stay in Dubai on our way to Australia (qv). It was dark when we arrived and foggy when we got up to go back to the airport. Not at all like the photo to your left.

Singapore City, Republic of Singapore - We had a stopover at the airport here on our return flight from Australia. I popped up to the roof terrace at the airport, but you cannot believe how hot and humid it was!

Australasia

I've spent time in Australia, but didn't visit the country's capital Canberra. I did visit two state capitals: Adelaide (South Australia) and Sydney (New South Wales), both of which were impressive.

I was there, in Adelaide, as leader of a group of teachers on a Socrates study visit to look at Teaching Gifted Children.

The Americas

I've been to North America, once, but not Central or South America. Although we spent time in some great places - Anaheim, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, San Simeon, Seattle - we didn't go anywhere near the east coast and the capital Washington DC.

I enjoyed the places we visited, mostly staying with relatives and friends, but we we were distinctly unimpressed with the food, except chowder in SF, and hated the blatant discrimination towards Hispanics.

© The Spanish Fly

See also: 

Capital "Punishment"- Part One (eyeonspain.com)

Tags: Adelaide, Ajaccio, America, Amsterdam, Anaheim, Australia, Austria, chowder, Copenhagen, Corsica, Denmark, Dubai, Formentera, Ibiza, Los Angeles, Madrid, Malta, Moscow, New Orleans, Norway, Orson Welles, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Russia, San Diego, San Francesc, San Francisco,  San Sebastian, San Simeon, Seattle, Singapore, Soviet Union, Spanish Fly, Stockholm, Sweden, Sydney, UAE, Valletta, Victoria, Vienna, Washington DC 

By The Spanish Fly

Not a punishment at all, rather a pleasure. I like to travel, although I'm not so keen on long-haul.

Perhaps because of my background in foreign languages, I developed a real wanderlust from my late teens onwards.

As a result, over the course of half a century I've clocked up a surprising number of capitals, thirty-four, in fact.

Surprising for me, a working class lad from the sticks. Others, like my younger brother, Simon, or my friend Nick, will no doubt scoff and say: "Is that all?"

Well .....

Here's Part One - The Western European Mainland. 18 capital cities.

Western Europe

Amsterdam, Netherlands - official capital, but see The Hague (below). Have visited a couple of times, once privately and once with work. Canals are great. Rijksmuseum also.

Andorra la Vella, Andorra - tiny principality squeezed in between France and Spain. Went for a day when I was in my 20s. Don't remember much, except that the duty free was cheap.

Athens, Greece - been a few times, pre- and post-kids, on the way to the islands of the Cyclades. Impressive monuments, Acropolis and Parthenon, and a great atmosphere.

Berlin, Germany - Surprisingly, I've only been once. That was in the winter of 2009, while courting Rita. We stayed with her younger son in the former East Berlin. Jojo did a great job as our tourist guide. I liked the atmosphere. An interesting, vibrant and cosmopolitan city.

Berne, Switzerland - passed through when I was hitch-hiking my way round Europe in 1977 with my first wife, Jeryl. We didn't linger - too expensive! And pretty boring1

Bonn, West Germany - The former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany before re-unification. Drab and boring.

Brussels, Belgium - often regarded as a boring and dull place, far from it in my experience. I loved it when I went with my wife Jeryl way back; again with my daughter Amy following her graduation in 2004, and subsequently, in 2005, as leader of a Socrates group of sixth-formers from St Helens, Merseyside, where I was the adviser for modern languages with additional responsibility for EU educational programmes (now no longer available since Brexit!).

Cardiff, Wales - I've been the odd time over the years, notably for a Six Nations rugby match at the then new Milennium Stadium, since renamed Principality Stadium.

Douglas, Isle of Man -  I spent a week working on the Isle of Man in around 2003. A colleague and I were loaned out to the Manx Education Department to inspect the modern languages  provision in the island's secondary schools. Got to see a lot of the island, as we travelled around to different towns. A nice, friendly place with fantastic countryside and great beaches.

Dublin, Ireland - Only been there once, which I don't really understand as I loved the place. My wife Jeryl had business there so I tagged along. We stayed at the Sheldon Hotel for a long weekend. Apart from the fact that they wanted to charge us extra to use the pool, sauna, etc, everything was fine. Big argument, where I pointed out that in England hotel facilities are free for guests. We used the facilities a lot and didn't pay a penny!

We took the DART north and walked back. 

The Guinness was spectacular, if expensive. This was in the late 90s. It's even dearer now, I hear.

Edinburgh, Scotland - Shortly after meeting Rita I suggested a Magical Mystery Tour. All she knew beforehand was that she needed to pack warm clothes. It was January 2009. When we got to Malaga airport and checked in she realised we were flying to Edinburgh, Scotland. What she didn't know was that we were travelling onward to the Isle of Arran. I had a timeshare there and it was the AGM. We enjoyed a fascinating dinner with a Murder Mystery theme. Rita didn't understand a word of what was said at our table. To be honest, nor did I? The Scots accent is rather impenetrable.

We did some walking and viewed most of the island. It was lovely.

On the last day, Rita ricked her back, so our last two days in Edinburgh, she stayed in bed. I, on the other hand, had a great time. I did the free walking tour of the city centre. Wow! Our guide earned his generous tip.

Lisbon, Portugal - Rita and I went in 2014. My English cousin Alison is married to a Peruvian diplomat, Jesus. They had been posted to Lisbon and it was an important wedding anniversary. So they threw a party and invited us. We drove from Ronda and enjoyed a fabulous few days. My brother Simon and his wife Marilyn, my cousin Gloria and another distant relative Wendy were also there. Other than that, we didn't know anybody.

Lisbon disappointed me. I'd always wanted to go, but I found the centre grubby and shabby.

London, England - Of course, I've been to London umpteen times. The first was a school trip to visit art galleries (I did Art A-level). The second time was to watch a friendly between England and Germany at the old Wembley stadium, when I was a university student. All that was when I was a youngster.

I had cause to go later in life, as both my kids were living there. When I was courting Rita around 2009/2010 we went also. We've been a few times since. We did the main tourist stuff, ie Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, etc. We also saw Tom, my actor son, in several plays in the West End, A Clockwork Orange, Waterloo Sunset, Yerma, to name but three.

But, London is not for us. Too big, too noisy, too dirty, too loud, too expensive.

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg - I've been to The Grand Duchy a few times. Jeryl and I went a few times pre- and post-kids. Our hosts were always Jac and Dan, a Welsh couple and our good friends from university. They both worked as translators at the European Commission.

Dan committed suicide when their two kids were really young. Jac decided to stay in Luxembourg, where she had carved out a good social life and was a leading figure in the international church there. She stopped working at the EC and set herself up as a piano teacher. She does it to this day.

After my divorce from Jeryl, I visited Jac a few times. I'd fancied her when we were undergraduates, but Dan got in first. We enjoyed a summer romance when she invited me to spend the summer of 2008 in Luxembourg helping her daughter Miriam and hubbie to renovate a house for them to live in.

Madrid, Spain - Madrid. The first time I went was with my first wife, Jeryl, when she had a business trip there. That was in May and it was already way too hot and humid!

The second time was when I attended an educational conference there on Inspecting Schools in around 2006.

My third visit was as recently as 2022, when I took my second wife, Rita, there to buy a car. See here.

Paris, France - Beautiful Paris. I've been there a number of times. What a fantastique city! I've done all the sights, I think: Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Pigalle, Arc de Triomphe, Rive Gauche, Notre Dame.

The Hague, Netherlands - The seat of the Dutch government and the administrative capital. I attended a study visit there as part of the European Union's Socrates programme. Educators from all corners of Europe attended.

Vienna, Austria - Went with Jeryl before kids. Very impressive city. The Prater was delightful. Memories of the film "The Third Man", starring Orson Welles.

© The Spanish Fly

Tags: Adelaide, Ajaccio, America, Amsterdam, Anaheim, Austria, chowder, Copenhagen, Corsica, Denmark, Dubai, Formentera, Ibiza, Los Angeles, Madrid, Malta, Moscow, New Orleans, Norway, Orson Welles, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Russia, San Diego, San Francesc, San Francisco,  San Sebastian, San Simeon, Seattle, Singapore, Soviet Union, Spanish Fly, Stockholm, Sweden, Sydney, UAE, Valletta, Victoria, Vienna, Washington DC 

During the rest of the week before New Year, we had two meals out scheduled. One with our hosts in the local Italian ristorante, MELARANCIO, and one in a vegan restaurant for the non-meat-eating side of the family.

   Talheim, New Year’s Eve

 We also had visits planned to friends. Helen, a retired Hausarzt (GP) and Jürgen, a Steuerberater (tax adviser); and Judith, Rita’s former step-daughter.     

The best-laid plans …..

Most of what we had planned fell through, for a variety of reasons.

The meal at Ristorante Melarancio went ahead as planned. We had a great time, good Italian-style food, good company and a hefty bill (compared to Spain).

                                  Giuseppina Ruggiero, Owner Ristorante Melarancio, Talheim [Photos: www.melarancio.de]

Our planned visit to Helen and Jürgen was cancelled when Helen’s elderly father had a stroke and had to be admitted to hospital. Helen needed to take care of her mother who was home alone.

Rita visited Judith, prior to the latter being admitted to hospital for an operation to remove a tumour via endoscopy. A day later Judith was at home and in good spirits.

The planned visit to a vegan restaurant with Johannes, Rita’s eldest son, Juliane, his partner, and their nine-year-old daughter Lyre, also didn’t happen. Instead, we had a nice vegan lunch at their home in Knittlingen, coincidentally the twin-town of the villages Montejaque and Benaoján, near where we live in in Andalucia.

When we got back to Talheim we learned that Hans, former husband of Rita’s sister Birgid, had died that afternoon. He had been admitted to hospital the day before after suffering a stroke where they discovered he was in the final stages of leukemia. Nobody knew. He passed away peacefully in his sleep, aged 92. His daughter Silke was at his side.

Saturday, 30 December 2023

Rita, youngest grand-daughter Lotta, and I went shopping in Heilbronn, the biggest town/city round here. Lotta needed some sportswear for climbing (her main hobby), and I found a couple of bargains for me: a pullover and a fleece.

The fleece I got in WOOLWORTH. Remember them? They went bust in the UK in 2009. 

[On 26 November 2008, trading of shares in Woolworths Group was suspended. All 807 Woolworths stores closed between 27 December 2008 and 6 January 2009, resulting in 27,000 job losses. Woolworths Group plc entered administration on 27 January 2009, and it was officially dissolved on 13 October 2015. The collapse of Woolworths was a symbol of the credit crunch and financial turmoil in the UK at the end of 2008.]

I got myself a Hefeweizen and a Bratwurst for lunch, while the girls had something altogether healthier!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Photo: Instagram

The rest of Saturday was spent relaxing. In the evening we watched Amélie, a well-known French film starring Audrey Tautou.

Silvester (New Year’s Eve)

Another hanging-around sort of day, in anticipation of the end-of-year celebrations.

In the morning I trimmed my beard, got showered, donned my new pullover and listened to several podcasts on the BBC Sounds app. Highlights were an interview with Dame Esther Rantzen, aged 83 and in the final stage of cancer. So clear, lucid and interesting and pleased to be still alive at Christmas 2023.

I can only recommend this free app. You can download it on your mobile. BBC Sounds.

Dinner – raclette and good conversation - was followed by "Dinner for One" on the television. I've written about this German tradition previously, here.

As always, although we've seen it loads of times over the years, it's hilariously funny!

Then, shortly before midnight, it was fireworks and Sekt on the street outside. The Germans really take Neujahr seriously.

They sort of compete to put on the best display.

   Photo: Amazon

1 January 2024

We were late to bed, of course, but our flight home to Spain from Baden-Baden is not until the afternoon of New Year’s Day, 1 January, so alles gut!

© The Spanish Fly

Tags: 1 January, Amélie, Audrey Tautou, Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Benaoján, Bratwurst, Hefeweizen, Heilbronn, Knittlingen, Montejaque, Neujahr, New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, raclette, Ristorante Melarancio, Silvester, Talheim