Holiday in the Sun

Hello everyone. I hope you have had a good few weeks since we last met here. 

Thank you for all your kind wishes while hubby and I were away on holiday. Your messages that D posted were very welcome and appreciated. 

This holiday, we spent it in Rhodes, and it was much more relaxing than our last trip. 

It was very hot during our stay, so we made the most of the hotel facilities and the sunny weather.

This photo made me smile as it's not often that you see an empty poolside like this. To be fair, this photo was taken after 6pm when the pool is closed. It was also the view from our balcony.

This was the other view from our balcony.

We took a stroll along the beach front and admired some of the harbour sights.

The hop-on/hop-off bus allowed us to see more of the island and enjoy better views from some of its higher points.

The beach across the road from the hotel was pebbly but the sea water was warm and inviting.

Mandraki harbour is the historic port where the legendary Colossus once stood. Today, two toering stone columns are topped with a stag and doe.

We also visited the Old Town of Rhodes and wandered around the cobbled streets. The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has a wonderful mix of cultures: Byzantine, Crusader, Ottoman and Italian architecture.

Sitting in the hotel restaurant enjoying our meals each evening, we were treated to the most spectacular sunsets.

It was a wonderful, relaxed holiday that both hubby and I enjoyed, and when we finally arrived home and had some sleep, I ventured back into my garden to see how things had been growing. This is just a little of the food bounty I found.

Wherever you are, I hope you are well and that you will have a good week ahead. 

Take care x

Visiting Warwick Castle

Hello everyone.

Another week has flown by, and it has been very hot in this small corner. Many parts of the UK have experienced unusually hot weather for this time of year, and lots of us have been trying to find a shady spot to stay cool. 

For most of the week, we have managed to avoid the sun's intense rays, but on Wednesday, we braved a day out. D is on a half-term holiday, and she suggested a trip to Warwick Castle. Although we bought the tickets before the hot weather arrived, thankfully, Wednesday was not as unbearably hot for us as Monday and Tuesday.

Inside the grounds, we made our way to where the trebuchet demonstration was about to start. Sadly, it was mostly a talk, as part of the firing and arming mechanism was faulty, and they didn't want to cause an accident. This did actually happen in 2015 when a burning projectile damaged a Victorian boathouse on the River Avon. The trebuchet is currently the largest functioning construction of its kind and was built in 2005, based on historical designs. It stands 18 metres tall and can fire missiles weighing 36kg up to 300 metres.

We then enjoyed the newest attraction at Warwick Castle called 'Viking Invaders'. 

This was a live-action, action-packed stunt show with horses and riders, explosions, and bravery, telling the tale of Ethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great, and her bravery in leading her people against Viking invaders.  

While we were having lunch, we were treated to a wonderful falconry and birds of prey display, which was linked to a story about a young falconer's quest to bring back the finest birds of prey to Warwick Castle. 

Then it was on to the castle itself. We joined an excellent guided tour that gave a whistle-stop talk on the history of the castle and the Earls of Warwick. 

One of the interesting facts we learned was about the castle's defences. D was especially interested in the gatehouse and Barbican defences.

Anybody attempting to attack the castle needed to breach a portcullis, knock down a heavy oak door, and avoid the murder holes, through which the defenders could throw boiling oil and quick lime on your head. Once, there was an uncovered space where you might have a deluge of arrows fired down at you. If that was not enough, you then had to repeat the process of getting through the portcullis and the oak door, only a few steps further into the castle.

I think if you managed to survive all that, you deserved to get into the castle.

We did not try entering by this method. Instead, we enjoyed a leisurely walk around the inside of the castle to view an impressive display of armoury and some of the rooms showcasing furniture and items from various time periods. Some rooms also featured waxwork figures of historical characters to enhance the experience. 

We had not been to Warwick for many years, and we were glad to make a return visit, enjoying both the castle and the grounds as well as all the other attractions on offer. 

I hope that you have all had a good week, whatever you have been doing. 

Next week, hubby and I will be away, but D will keep an eye on things until we get back.

Thinking of you until we return from our travels

B x