The Oldest Parador In Spain
The parador by the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela is the oldest parador in Spain.
Part of our tour included coffee, tea and cakes in the hotel. Our tour guide even rustled up a delicious gluten-free muffin for myself. It was labelled sin gluten, with a crossed grain symbol, so coeliacs won’t have difficulty with the language. In fact my Italian pronunciation of celiachai worked well enough in Spain, as the words are similar sounding.
Before we had our snack, I had actually retreated into the hotel to get a coffee because of the cold, which cost me the princely sum of €2.50.
A Liverpudlian Hotel
I’ve just come back from Liverpool, where I stayed in the Hope Street Hotel. It is one of my favourite city hotels and I would rate it as the best city hotel, I’ve stayed in, in the UK. It certainly magnitudes better than one famous London hotel, C and I stayed in, where we were constantly interrupted all night by the reception wanting someone, with the same name as myself.
What I like most about it, is that it is a real Liverpudlian hotel, where the staff reflect the true nature of the city, where they have a joke and a tale for everyone. So many luxurious city hotels, as the Hope Street Hotel is, are very anonymous and could be anywhere. In some, I’ve stayed in, you find no local staff at all.
It is also an excellent gluten-free hotel, that actually bakes all of its own bread, including the gluten free. How many hotels do that? On Thursday night, I ate in the restaurant and they’d also made their own ice cream. Also, as befits a coastal city, there is always plenty of fish on the menu.
C liked her baths and the bathroom in the room I had was spectacular.
A Spectacular Bathroom
She would have loved it, although despite several tries she never managed to book the hotel.
I have feeling that I got a room upgrade because I booked with a Platinum Amex card. It’s happened to me quite a few times in 4 and 5-star hotels, as often a lot more guests want the cheaper rooms, so those they know or have a decent card get the upgrade.
Every time I go, the hotel seems to get better. This time, they had fitted new televisions which gave access to all the Freeview channels and Sky Sports. So often C and I stayed in a hotel, where her favourite Radio 4 wasn’t available and most don’t have my favourite Radio 5 either. But Hope Street has both and also all of the odd ones like BBC3 and ITV4.
Full Freview Television
Note that the Hope Street Hotel scores 4.5 on Trip Advisor, as opposed to the Lowry in Manchester, which scores 4. Remember too, that the Hope Street Hotel is at the heart of the University and many attractions in the city. Most of the other places you want to go are just a walk down the hill and if you need one a taxi back.
The Books They Leave Behind
Travelodge has published a list of the books most likely to be left in their hotel rooms. It’s reported here in the Telegraph.
Unsurprisingly, Fifty Shades of Grey tops the list. But then, that is to be expected, as there are more copies of it to leave behind.
There was no suggestion of whips, chains and nipple clamps being found.
Walking Towards The Airport Bus
I effectively finished my break, by walking along the front to get the airport bus.
In some ways, I felt rather sad to leave, but then I had to get back to check on the builders.
I shall certainly return, when I need some sun. After all, Majorca is probably the closest place, where sun is fairly guaranteed at some point in a break.
But I’ll choose a better hotel.
My Hotel In Palma, Majorca
I stayed in the Palacio Avenida In Palma
Palacio Avenida In Palma
I took this picture from the bus stop, where I got off the bus from the air-port. The closeness of the two, is the best thing about the hotel.
In the three days and two nights, I spent in the hotel, I didn’t manage to have a decent shower, as the taps were rather tired. I did get to sit in warm water, which might have helped my dry skin, but I had to keep my foot on the plug to stop the water running out.
One thing I didn’t like was the tiling on the floor.
A Bathroom With A Skating Rink
It is clean and shiny in the picture, but with wet feet, it was like a skating rink. Now I have had a stroke, but my balance is good. Thank goodness it was, as if I hadn’t I’d have been on the floor several times in my short stay.
It is supposed to be a 4 star hotel, but I’ve had better facilities and service in B & B’s in places like Accrington. It could just be that Spain is in such a state, that everything is being done to cut costs.
I didn’t eat much in the hotel, just sampling one very poor cold breakfast, where I wasn’t even offered coffee or any hot food.
I certainly won’t be staying there again.
I’ve Got The Sun But No Plumbing
I must be the only person, who when they book a 4* hotel always seems to get a problem.
This time it’s the plumbing. The bath and/or the shower is unusable and because it’s Sunday, there is nothing that the staff in the Palacio Avenida can do. They could have offered to move me to another room, but they didn’t make the offer and as the room is otherwise comfortable and convenient, I didn’t think to push it at the time.
We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
But as my bath is at the moment being replaced at home and the showers aren’t top-notch, I thought that a few days away would be a relief not more trouble.
Indians Execute Mumbai Gunman
The Indian authorities have executed the lone surviving gunman from the Mumbai attacks of November 2008. It’s reported here on the BBC.
I am against all forms of judicial killing, whether they be after a fit and proper trial in a Court of Law or not. So I will not condone what the Indians have done.
Remember that these attacks in Mumbai, were just after I visited the city and stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in the city. How many of the staff, that attended so well to my friend and myself died in the attack?
But even being that close to an attack, doesn’t make me change my view on the death penalty.
Walking Down To Lime Street
This picture brings back two memories.
Walking Down To Lime Street
In 1965, when I arrived in Liverpool for the first time to start my studies, I remember lugging my cardboard suitcase up this same hill to get a Crosville H13 bus or something like it, to my digs in Huyton. Students don’t arrive like that in universities today. They’re probably taken in style by car for a start. I think C too, had to find her own way to her place in Dale Hall.
Also shown in this picture is the old Trust House Forte, St. George’s Hotel, where we spent the weekend of April 6th, 1974. How can I be so sure of the date? It was the day that Abba won the European song contest with Waterloo. I can’t remember much else about that weekend. I don’t even know, whether the children came with us or how we travelled to the city. I can remember being served some of the worst scrambled eggs of my life and the look of disgust on what his staff had produced on the restaurant manager’s face, as he wrung the whey out of them with his hand.
I have discussed this story of the scrambled egg with my son and he said he was there. We did go to the Grand National in either 1978 or 1979, but then we went afterwards to the Lake District. It couldn’t have been 1974 as Red Rum won that year on the 30th March. So as the memory of Abba is I believe right, that puts us there a week later.
The streets of Liverpool are paved with memories. Sadly, all the pictures from the time have been lost.
The Hope Street Hotel
On Friday night, I went to Liverpool for an Alumni Dinner at the University and stayed in the Hope Street Hotel,where the dinner was held. Here’s a few pictures.
One of the reasons, I like the hotel is that it does gluten-free food superbly well. It did in the dinner on Friday night and the food was summed up by the superb smoked haddock and poached eggs that I had for breakfast.
Other hotels should take note about the breakfast as fish and eggs is so simple and also impossible to add gluten.
Simon Calder’s Holiday Advice
I like Simon Calder and he gave some interesting holiday advice on BBC Breakfast this morning, when asked about the shortage of package holidays. He suggested having a few days in London, where hotel prices are cheap and many of the best attractions are free.
In fact on the 38 bus last night, I met a father and son spending a couple of days in London.
So perhaps, Simon is only stating what is happening.
The Anonymous Widower 