Travels with my Wife – Holidays and Other Excursions

Netherlands 23.4.26

24 April 2026 / admin / 0 Comments

Pier Scheveningen 23.4.26

There are several visits to make today before we catch a late flight home. At this time of year the seaside can be a very mixed and so it proves when we visit Scheveningen which is the seaside resort adjacent to Den Haag. There is a wind blowing in from the sea and whilst I walk to the end of the pier it is probably not a good day at the seaside, even though it is bright and sunny.

ICJ Den Haag 23.4.26

On our way to the coast we stop briefly outside the above building which is now the International Court of Justice where war criminals have been prosecuted in recent years. These days however the rule of law does not seem to stretch so far. The building is known as the “Peace Palace” and was constructed in the early 20th Century as a home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration and was initially funded by Andrew Carnegie – at a time when wealthy entrepreneurs redirected their wealth for the public good.

Cheeses 23.4.26

Our next visit is to dairy making local cheese. Obviously we are not able to take cheese home but we are advised that they have sold significant quantities to UK travellers and there have been no reported instances of interception on return to the UK. We are not willing to risk it. I suspect some others do. The lady telling us how they make cheese is (or more probably was) an American who married the farm owner. They make quite a few different variations on cheese and tasting samples are consumed.

Zaanse Schans 24.4.26

Our final stopping point is Zaanse Schans, an industrial history museum, which preserves and maintains a number of windmills plus other craft activities along with buildings which have been moved to the museum from other locations in the country. Our first destination is, however, a location to get some lunch as we are travelling back later and will not have much opportunity to eat anything significant.

Not the Windmills of Old Amsterdam 24.4.26

The Zaan district was the oldest industrial area in Western Europe commencing in the 18th Century with around 600 windmills in operation. Trade in the 17th Century which forms the Dutch Golden Age drove the investment and the construction enabling the entrepreneurs to produce ever more products. The invention of the crankshaft converting the horizontal wind pressure into a vertical saw motion enabling more wood to be cut than was possibly manually. This enabled ship building and so led to a significant merchant navy – 26 shipyards turning out over 100 ships a year. This required manpower and that led to growing national and then international trade. They also originated fire contracts and insurance.

Preserved Houses 24.4.26

It is fair to say that we were not looking forward to the return journey. Most of it went well. Of course we ended up at T4 which with the car in pod parking in T5 is less than fun. So it is one train to T2 and then another to T5 and the hike to the pod parking terminal. It goes reasonably well but it does take some time. I do ensure we get the free inter-terminal tickets from the machine which eases the pain slightly, they are allegedly 4 miles apart so I suppose the time is not unreasonable.

Holiday Summary

Just a quick roundup – a busy holiday, beautiful flowers, Den Haag is a lovely city and a chance to see some of the country’s history. A good holiday and a revisit to Den Haag is highly possible.

Netherlands 22.4.26

23 April 2026 / admin / 0 Comments

Noordeinde Palace Den Haag 22.4.26

We stay local today with a guided walk around Den Haag. Close by the hotel is a statue memorial to the late Queen Wilhelmina and to be perfectly honest if I had any hand in commissioning or approving this monstrosity I would feel that I was disrespecting the history of her reign and the individual. Why can we not be nice about Royal family members? I have not included a photograph of the monstrosity, even more amazing it is almost opposite the main royal palace (above) where the King works.

Lange Voorhout Den Haag 22.4.26

Our tour takes us along the above attractive tree lined avenue to the Hotel D’Indes and then along past the Houses of Parliament (currently closed for reconstruction) and into the City Centre itself. Mainly traffic free and yet still busy.

Netherland Parliament Den Haag 22.4.26

At the end of the tour we can enter the Palace Gardens (and indeed others walk around them – I am at the limit of my walking time). Given we can no longer even enter Downing Street in London the contrast is enormous and I feel reflects badly on our country where there are so many restrictions on where we may go.

Anatomical Theatre Den Haag 22.4.26

We pass amongst other places the Anatomical Theatre where for several centuries surgeons learnt about the body with full dissections taking place several times per annum. The building was constructed for the Surgeons Guild to allow knowledge to passed on and for skills to be developed.

Plane Filling II M C Escher Den Haag 22.4.26

Following the end of the tour we retrace our steps to enable Jackie to acquire a new cabin suitcase to enable easy travelling as it has wheels and it less cumbersome than the bag packed for this trip. Once Jackie is back at the hotel and after a break, I emerge again to visit Lange Voorhout Palace which now houses a museum dedicated to Maurits Cornelis Escher, an artist whose mind perhaps worked in a slightly unusual way. Much of his output was dedicated to transformations where birds turn to fish and similar, he is also known for the impossible where a 2D representation of 3 D items enables things to be achieved which are physically impossible. Although from the Netherlands he did spend a long time in Italy.

In the evening we dine at BlueBloods which is a short walk each way and we are able to get a very decent steak.

Netherlands 21.4.26

22 April 2026 / admin

Colours Keukenhof 21.4.26

Another day and an important one – the coach reappears – a good five minutes walk away as it cannot reach the hotel – and we climb aboard for a trip of about an hour to Keukenhof which are gardens laid out to show off the wares of Dutch Bulb growers enabling people to walk amongst a mass of flowers – at their best – for a period of about six weeks – which is the only time the gardens are open.

There are also specialist displays inside some of the buildings but we only tried one of these – with a display of orchids – but at some point in the past we have (for once) been somewhere better – we just cannot remember where!

Flowers galore Keukenhof 21.4.26

We cover much of the site – but to do all of it requires more walking than either of us can manage – a trip we should have done earlier. Pain killers for my pain can sometimes work and sometimes not. It is not clear sometimes why something has worked or why even having taken something the pain appears.

Tulips Keukenhof 21.4.26

Although the site is pretty busy it remains possible to get photographs without too many people in shot – but there are different colours and flowers everywhere, along with statues and other aspects to achieve variety.

Bluebells among the tulips Keukenhof 21.4.26

Equally impressive are the ordinary growing fields we pass on our journeys – both yesterday and today we pass fields of flowers in strips each of a single colour. Some strips have been picked and others are just reaching that point – all amazing bright colours. I have over 70 photographs so those included are just a small extract to indicate the variety which exists.

We dine in the hotel this evening. Not particularly worth recounting according to my memory.

Netherlands 20.4.26

21 April 2026 / admin

Amsterdam 20.4.26

Today was one of those days – with the problems starting on Sunday evening when we discovered messages advising that our KLM flight this morning was not flying. By the time we saw the messages we had also been advised that we would be flying BA a little later than planned. However KLM use T4 and BA uses T5; the parking booking needed changing and we are now heading for pod parking arriving so early inside T5 that security has not yet been unsecured (4:30am for future reference).

BA get us away more or less on time to deliver us into the next hell hole – Amsterdam Schipol. We head towards immigration and after several attempts I manage to register my passport and fingerprints on the new terminals needed to enter Schengen territory. It was so much easier arriving at Hoek of Holland by ferry in 1976. We are then split without any explanation into “Route 1” and “Route 2”. Both routes are placed into holding zones – apparently because one of the two downward escalators is not working so the people flow has to he regulated. After a while the powers that be decided we could not go that way and led across the terminal to another set of stairs which did not really indicate where route 1 or route 2 people should go. Eventually route 1 goes to machines which appear to scan passport (success), take a picture (success) and fingerprints – three attempts and then rejected and put into route 2 in which you get to meet a border guard.

Fill up the queues further along we are advised at high volume. Then all the difficult cases (4) are brought to the officer in the booth for which I am queueing – which for Jackie who managed to get through route 1 means increasing worry as I have disappeared into nothingness. Eventually I reach the officer and I am asked where I am going – well Amsterdam – I am here. I am advised that is not an appropriate answer as I am in transfers and MUST be going somewhere else. Eventually after some explanation that I have been sent this way it is accepted that I can go to Amsterdam! I emerge and find Jackie. However there are only signs for transfers to somewhere else and no indication that there is an exit anywhere. If anyone ever asks – do not fly to Amsterdam.

The tour guide is slowly collecting his flock and one of the last couple through obviously have the same sort of misrouting as I suffered.

Royal Palace Amsterdam 20.4.26

We are then dropped in central Amsterdam and although we have been here before, over 20 years ago I honestly do not recognise it at all. The station looks familiar as we used it a few years ago but the rest is not recognised. We walk a little way to the main square and then find a decent lunch in an adjacent restaurant before returning to the quay and taking a cruise through the canals of Amsterdam – again we have done it before but I do not really remember it. Back to the coach pick up. Only it doesn’t. It is reported that the coach is stuck in a tunnel under the City and cannot move. We sit in a local bar but after two hours I flip out and we decide to catch a train down to The Hague where we have a dinner reservation.

Amsterdam Canal Cruiser 20.4.26

The train takes around 50 minutes – smooth, a number of stops, double decker trains. Not high speed but frequent (every 10 or 15 minutes). Once in The Hague we take a taxi direct to our booked restaurant for an excellent meal before finding our Movenpick hotel – we are now very tired as it has been a very long day.

Service to Den Haag 20.4.26

The rest of the tour party made it to the hotel soon after 7 as the coach had finally been extricated around the time we set off; I just felt that not enough was being done – it seemed that a second coach could not be procured and it was all down to a lack of CCTV in the tunnel – but there are other ways of solving the problem and getting traffic moving.

None of the problems were the fault of Newmarket directly – KLM had a flight cancellation; Schipol clearly cannot cope with the new system, the failure by the local police to keep traffic moving

La Gomera 2.1.26 – 9.1.26

17 January 2026 / admin

Mount Teide Tenerife 9.1.26

Unusually this is a second consecutive foreign holiday (ignoring the short excursions to Cornwall and Brighton) where we intend to do very little. La Gomera is an island situated a little way away from Tenerife and it was visible from Playa San Juan when we stayed there some 20+ years ago. In those days the ferry sailed across from Playa San Juan to the island but these days the ferry link is to and from Los Christianos. We are travelling with Tui and our destination is Hotel Jardin Tecina which is situated above the small town of Playa Santiago on the south coast of the island.

The outward journey requires an early start to Gatwick and the usual wait at the airport. A decent flight down to Tenerife South airport, passing Mount Teide on our way) and then a coach to the Los Christianos port where there is a lack of information. We follow others obtaining tickets from Armas ferry – which is awaiting departure. We hand cases over to white van man and have to hope they will be at the other end. 50 minutes later we are on the island and further guesswork is needed to reach the terminal building where we are re-united with our cases.

Volcán de Teno Ferry 9.1.26

A minibus and trailer are then loaded and a fifty minute run along the mountain tops enables arrival at our destination.

The hotel has a number of restaurants and the second best meal of the week is in La Tasca which has friendly staff and good service.

Hotel Jardin Tecina 10.1.26

Our daytimes – when the weather permits – which is most days I can report were spent on one of the Bali beds adjacent to the pool area outside our room.

Our room is a slight understatement. The ground floor has a bedroom and bathroom and opens onto the beds surrounding the pool area. On the floor above is a lounge area (both are equipped with televisions) where typically we take lunch and a toilet plus a “front” door which opens to the main path at the front. Up another flight of stairs there is a large circular bed – if the Bali beds were being used this might be a nice alternative but we did not use it during our stay.

On the second evening we negotiated our way down the steps, lift and more steps to sea level. If it seemed a long way down it seemed further when going up later! We wander around the town – quiet but we eat as early as we can in Kuffs which was notable for some excellent prawns.

Cave and carrier basket 11.1.26

Come Sunday evening we had the most wonderful experience in The Cave. We are escorted up the steps to a remote (but warm) cave and the waiter takes an order for alcohol as the menu is largely fixed. He then vanishes and to a timetable they have a “zip wire” type cage which brings the food up from the kitchen and into which we load the plates after each course. It is probably the best meal of the week with some superb veal as the main course. Veal simply does not get served enough in the UK but is on just about every menu here. The cave contains a bed – but we are unable to avail ourselves of its comforts as we find we are both in need of the toilets after completing the meal – which requires descent back to the facilities – not by zip wire for us – we have to use the steps.

Bed in a cave 11.1.26

The hotel does not seem exceptionally busy – we have no trouble finding a table outside at breakfast (there are two restaurants serving breakfast – La Gara has a large outside area) so it consumes a few calories walking to and from the buffet areas. In our area the most number of beds occupied was I think 4 and on later days of the holiday we would choose one for sun in the morning and then occupy a different one in the afternoon to maximise the sun available.

Two of the hotel’s restaurants are also down at sea level – Club Laurel which we use on Monday evening and La Trattoria on Wednesday evening. In the latter we are disappointed that the lasagne (an essential Italian dish) was vegetarian only. In both cases it was my perception that the attention to detail and service was lacking.

On the final evening we visited a recommended restaurant in the town, we had visited it on the second evening to secure a booking and it seems to be full every evening. An excellent salad to open but the follow up was not perhaps as good as we had been led to expect – it is probably the best in town but I am not sure it quite deserved the hype we experienced – however it was exceptionally busy.

The timing of the return trip is dependent on the ferries. These leave La Gomera at 7 am (Fred Olsen) and 7:30 am (Armas). We are booked on the latter which determines an 04:40 alarm call. Plus we end up with four meals during the day – a light breakfast at the hotel, a Burger King during our five ~~years~~ hours at the airport awaiting our flight, sandwiches on the flight and then battered sausage and chips once we are home. It is also a long old day.

Brighton 31.12.25 – 3.1.26

4 January 2026 / admin

Brighton Pavilion 1.1.26

This was a short break intended to spend a few days in Brighton to see in the New Year. We stayed in Drakes Hotel which has wonderful views of the seafront and the Pier and some pretty steep stairs to the rooms – given the age of the building there is no lift!

The new year celebrations are in the Grand which is a modest walk down hill on our way there. At 1am it is a far less speedy walk back up the slope (it can hardly be called a hill) to our hotel – but the two flights of stairs nearly do for us when we do get there.

Sleep is broken but we cascade downstairs anticipating a completely different day to the one which happens. Jackie had booked tickets for the Royal Pavilion this morning – but when we get there it is closed and locked up. The tickets are checked and definitely say 1 January. Eventually a disembodied voice tells us that they are closed for the day.

We walk into the Lanes and after a coffee note that Brighton Morris men and women and children are gathering for a display so we get a drink from the adjacent hostelry and await the entertainment – which eventually draws quite a crowd.

Our next destination is the Pier. The much promised waffle outlet is not open but the Palm Court restaurant at the end of the Pier is and serves an excellent portion of whitebait and chips for a very good price. Great value for money with an Irish coffee to warm the insides as well.

In the evening we walk along the front again – this time our destination is “The Salt Room” a well regarded restaurant immediately adjacent to the Grand Hotel and therefore easy to find. We all chose the chicken main course and it was excellent accompanied with some chips and tomato salad. Very pleasant environment and good food so a great evening.

Brighton Pavilion 2.1.26

The following morning we head back to the Pavilion and the management sort things out rapidly refunding our tickets and granting free entry. Whilst the ground floor has not changed since our last visit neither Jackie or I recall being able to go upstairs where some of the restoration story is told. Queen Victoria felt that Brighton was too busy to be a suitable holiday residence for her growing family so largely removed the interior decoration and sold it to the local council (as then constituted) for initially £53000 but when the empty interiors were discovered they sought a refund – which amounted to £3000! Restoration to close to late Georgian decoration took the second half of the twentieth century and I would wager cost much more than £3k. However it is very well done.

Pavilion Music Room 2.1.26

After a bite of lunch we go the theatre for Sunny Afternoon – the Kinks musical where we are reminded of the song writing of Ray Davies. It is some years since we saw the original West End production and it is certainly very effective. A great entertainment.

In the evening we dine at Dilsk – the restaurant in the basement of Drakes Hotel although it is independently operated. Good but not as outstanding as we had hoped – but still pretty good halibut and I liked the opening mushroom custard – but not to everyone’s taste.

Hembal Manor 11 – 15 December 2025

16 December 2025 / admin

Falmouth Maritime Museum 12.12.25

11 December

The dear old A303 and then the A30 are covered today as we head to Hembal Manor, an excellent house for a family or similar party. There are nine of us in total congregating for a pre-Christmas “Christmas” just outside St Austell.

The outward journey is the easiest ever drive on the A303 and as it is dark and grey I decide to drive the entire distance. Not recommended is the Ilminster service area – despite the actually quite good refreshments from Greggs – the toilets need attention! Also on the downhill three lane section I am identified as having achieved 72mph in the Tiguan (I would question if it is capable of such speeds so must have been a following wind). Oddly had I allowed Jackie to drive she would have been behind the wheel on this section.

The Tiguan is also noted for not having a satnav worth using and it so proved again today as the only route it can find into the destination is along a road in need of much repair and which I miss at the first attempt as the road swings left and it does NOT tell me to turn right at the appropriate junction. Another car coming to the party uses the same route in as I cannot find the road in from the other end (and I have been here before)!

12 December

Today two of us go to visit the Maritime Museum down in Falmouth and I can heartily recommend it. Not huge but an amazing collection of different styles of boats from across the world each with a little story to tell. It also has great views from the top over the adjacent Falmouth Sound and the bibbly bobbly boats (many of which are out of the water at this time of the year).

Heligan Light trail 12.12.25

In the afternoon we drive down to the Lost Gardens of Heligan for the light trail in the grounds. All excellent and it probably seemed further to walk than was actually the case. The annoying thing was that for some reason we were parked away from the main car park which added to the distance covered for no obvious reason.

Dinner was booked for the Tartan Fox at Carvynick Holiday Park. However the satnav decided it would take us to Carvinnik Farm – which is close to Mevagissey on the south coast of Cornwall and the Tartan Fox is close to Newquay. Whoops. We get there eventually and I decide stern words are needed with the satnav system when we get home.

13 December

Cloud Bridge Eden Project 13.12.25

Also close to Hembal Manor is the Eden Project and this is visited in day time. Since my last visit the entrance has changed dramatically and the parking seems to be a long way away from the entrance. The two domes themselves are little changed although in the main dome all of the vegetation has reached maturity and is impressive. In the Mediterranean dome it was largely freshly planted on my previous visit and is now mature. This is probably not the best time of year to visit this dome.

Up in the air 13.12.25

Not for the faint hearted is a many step climb to the very top of the dome which would have been beyond me – but a number of the party managed it.

Other areas have been added – externally there has been a lot of planting and further landscaping. A pair of zip wires stretch across the entire site (although are seeing little use this afternoon) and another major area has been added (Core) which is purposed at the moment to provide entertainment for children.

It remains an amazing development and again there are lights in the evening – but we decided not to do a second extravaganza.

14 December

We spend most of the day watching television apart from a lunchtime excursion to the Polgooth Inn where I enjoyed a turkey roast (well it is all part of Christmas this year) and a gentle drive back to the Manor. Two of our party left us this morning so it was first farewells as they departed. We then watched a selection of Christmas and other movies. We tried the Polar Express which has been such a success in recent years but neither of us like the story line and decide after about 30 minutes to revert to other content – an episode of a comedy programme which Jackie has been enjoying was shown so that we know all about liking circuses!

15 December

Time to brave the A30 and the A303 back home. The journey is punctuated by two main events. Firstly a stop at The Hub a small but very welcoming restaurant at Tintinhull where we had excellent coffees and carrot cake and could not stop for one of their grander offerings. Heartily recommended and one to remember.

Less welcome was the traffic jam on a single track section (but we were on a dual carriageway) following an accident. For a while we only move as cars use a cut through to return on the other carriageway but the diversion was lengthy trip through some villages but it is uncertain if it would have been quicker than staying with the queue which we did.

Paphos 28.11.25 – 5.12.25

6 December 2025 / admin

View from Hotel room Paphos 28.11.25

We have been to Paphos before – but not since I retired so it was well over 10 years ago. Last time we hired a car and toured along the coast and also visited the Troodos Mountains. This time we were going with the hope (subject to the weather) of seeing some winter sun and getting away from the domestic cold and those slate grey skies which have been prevalent throughout 2025.

A particularly early flight out of Gatwick was offset by using valet parking. Take the car into the right car park, hand over the keys and walk across into the departures area to drop cases and then go through security. On this Friday morning it is pretty quiet and apart from the usual need to inspect my carry on bag we are soon through the other side. A decent breakfast courtesy of Sonoma and then the usual wait for the plane to be ready. It is at one of the nearer gates which makes a pleasant change. The flight is full and it is a 4.5 hour flight to Paphos – earphones in and away we go.

We are staying at the Amavi which is one of about four major hotels along the sea front and I can heartily recommend it – after all at reception we are offered an upgrade and end up in an impressive fourth floor suite which has a balcony with loungers, table and chairs and is completely protected from the prevailing wind – meaning we can enjoy fresh air all the way through the week.

The hotel has extensive grounds and allocates residents a pair of sunbeds for the week – it is relatively quiet this time of year but in the busy times it means there are no towels reserving sunbeds or similar. It is also quiet. We do not see anyone in the outdoor pools as they are probably simply too cold. We do not use the indoor one as we prefer the open air. We only use the sunbeds a couple times – but the weather is warm enough to mean we can return with some tan rather than none.

In the peak the hotel has three special restaurants. At the time we visited the outside ones are closed but the inside one operates in two different formats – half the time serving European food and on other nights it is a Japanese menu as it seems this is in favour in Cyprus at present – it seems to be on offer elsewhere.

Paphos Wine Tasting 4.12.25

On the first day we were supposed to go on a local tour with wine tasting but regrettably (and without being told) it was cancelled – all funds re-imbursed. We had expected it to go ahead having had an email the previous day and quite why no-one managed to let us know it was cancelled we did not understand. (Autogenerated emails from Trip Advisor are not to be trusted it seems). Later in the week the hotel organised a small wine tasting and I can confirm that there are some excellent local wines available with the Persephone being local to Paphos apparently – and from a winery we should have visited!

During our stay we wandered into central Paphos and since our last visit the main front has been pedestrianised and therefore it all looks a little different. It no doubt makes it far safer but it seems quieter – but that may just be the time of year. It is obvious that there has been some development away from the main front and this includes “The Lodge” a newish restaurant serving South African barbecue food where we dine one evening. Recommended even if the service is just a little rapid.

On the main front we stopped in Aphrodite’s Secret and selected some excellent supplies – so many nuts that we brought a lot home and some wines. They also told us that one of the wineries we had been due to visit was not actually that good (no names) so we may have had a lucky escape!

A restful week and the temperatures were around 20 deg C – slightly warmer on some days too – which makes it pleasant. We had thought about visiting the Roman remains and the Old Town but decided to save those delights for a return visit at some future date.

However a decent week away despite the high winds one one day and I am told we ended up under budget.

Spanish Paradors 14.9.25

15 September 2025 / admin

Our homeward journey is multi stage. Our coach returns us to Bilbao Airport. We traverse what I believe to be Rioja country and we do see some vines but not on the scale I was anticipating.

At the airport where we have the usual wait for the Vueling aeroplane to return us to London Gatwick. They disembark by row numbers – five at a time. I am not sure it makes things better as people are still not ready to move once their rows are called.

Then a transfer bus to the long term parking where the car awaits at the far end of a car park and the rain is pouring down from the sky in vast quantities. We rarely resort to remote parking – justified as it came as part of the package to stay at the hotel on the outward journey which brings back memories of the excellent meal at Sorrel unmatched during our sojourn abroad.

Northern Spain – potentially damper than would have been ideal. The Paradors I felt were a little lacking from the expectations we had of them, although we saw some others along the way. The rooms are inevitably standardised I suppose but the service levels I had anticipated to be higher than we experienced – are they suffering the same recruitment difficulties as the UK or as it feels is it deliberate to manage with as few as possible.

Some of the scenery was magnificent. Away from the towns on the Camino Way it felt that the English were far from welcome (Oviedo I am looking at you), however another day it might be another story. We have now seen places we might not have seen, I would like to come back and visit some of the Rioja wineries and Bilbao. There is also an interesting looking narrow gauge rail network – but I suspect the frequency and speed of trains might be on the low side!

Spanish Paradors 13.9.25

14 September 2025 / admin

Santo Domingo de la Calzada 13.9.25

There is an optional trip into nearby Burgos today which most travellers take. We always felt that we would need a rest day (even if we had not already had one) today so we are staying put. Santo Domingo de la Calzada is dead on the Camino Way which runs through the town centre and so when we go out for a wander around we can actually see some of the travellers making their way (or actually lunching in most cases).

Parador 13.9.25

The sun does shine in this part of the world after all and we have it today so the wander around is very pleasant. The outside of the Parador looks modern but hidden inside is a former hospital building dating from the 12th century. Parador de Santo Domingo de la Calzada has various magnificent lounges, plus a modest bar where drinks can be obtained.

Having been a little unhappy at dinner last night the same group of six dined together in a little restaurant just across the way from the hotel and had possibly the best meal of the week here. We were not quite the last to leave the restaurant – but almost last which I suspect speaks for itself. Well looked after by the staff this evening and a decent end to the week, apart from the journey home.