This and that whilst sipping a fine malt.
Floating on our backs in the hotel pool, staring up at the night sky to the sound of raucous crickets, a solitary firefly hovered above us and danced its way towards the bushes. It was a moment of peace and beauty in the middle of what was a fast paced, all-in, full frontal blast of… Continue reading Sometimes, it tastes different…
A number of unusual things have happened since Mrs. Monkey quit her job. I always used to rise at 6.30 and then wake her up for work. This has reversed. She is up hours before me, sometimes as early as 5.00 am, to work on our new venture Corky and Prince. Me? I sleep till… Continue reading I want my own pc…
2018 is the year that Mrs. Monkey finally hung up her work suits and court shoes and cried, “Enough is enough”. As the sun bore down upon us during a seemingly unending summer we contemplated our futures. Now, both of us were out of work. What can we do - what do we have -… Continue reading It’s the future…
Dear Diary, I have been wondering lately what role you might play in bringing things back to normal. Seems to me right now that after the craziest three months this summer replenishing my energy levels is proving elusive. I know they will come back. I’m hoping for sooner rather than later. Mrs. Monkey quit her… Continue reading Dear Diary, better to burn out…
Deal or no deal, if the fanatical Leavers get their way, and it looks as though they will, the UK will exit the EU soon enough. The impact will be far reaching for a generation, not just in trade, the current favourite topic, but across our society, in actuality and perception. Consider - do you… Continue reading Helicopters on the roof.
Bilbao had been a blast. I must admit, though, I was surprised by the obvious presence of the regional Euskadi language. All signs were in Spanish and Euskadi with English included sometimes. On occasion, Euskadi took preference. I’m aware of the campaign to save Euskadi as a language and if nothing else, certainly the… Continue reading Days 17 and 18 – Bilbao – Laredo – Santander
With the freedom to be entirely reckless, for now, at least, before the next adventure in our lives kicks in, Mrs. Monkey decided at 4 days notice to join me in Bilbao. So, I thought, I shall hand over the reins of the blog to my wife... for one day only. 😅 Ladies and gentlemen,… Continue reading Rest days in Bilbao – Guest Blogger – Mrs. Monkey !
There are essentially two routes to Vitoria G from Logroño. The city is due north and after Laguardia, ringed by bodegas and vineyards, you can go around the Herrera peak, 55 miles, or over it, 45 miles. I had decided to go over it! As I dug into a constant 14% gradient I seriously did… Continue reading Days 15/16 Logroño to Vitoria-Gasteiz to Bilbao
Logroño is a city that styles itself as the capital of the rioja region. As an outlet for all the various styles and wares of the bodegas around these parts there can be no challenger. There are hundreds of variations, and, supporting my long held belief that the European countries don’t export their best wine… Continue reading Day 13/14 Logroño rest days
I had an interesting encounter in Tudela. On arriving into the outskirts I decided to cut short my two night stay here and press on to Logroño the following day. Time to check-in was 4.00pm so I hung around having made good time. At 4.05 I walked into Reception to find no-one but a young… Continue reading Days 11 / 12 Zaragoza to Tudela to Logroño
