Croatia – Zagreb and Plitvice Lakes

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Single Sleeper

The sleeper train was pretty comfortable, especially as I’d booked a single sleeper to myself. Since it was close to midnight when I finally clambered on board, I went to sleep pretty quickly, despite the rocking of the train.

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Frankfurt & Badenheim

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Me and R overlooking the Rhine

Although I’ve been in Germany twice before, I’ve never visited Frankfurt or my cousins who live near there. However, this seems to be the trip for family connections.

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Poland – Krakow

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In the courtyard of Wawel Castle

It was my first time in Poland, even though Grandpa came from here. It had always seemed very distant to me, in the shadow of the Iron Curtain. In fact, it’s gorgeous and there are so many tourists in the historical centre that almost all the Polish people there speak at least a little English, so it’s easy enough to get by. Continue reading

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Plymouth visit – and my bad driving

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At Mapperton House

After Cuba, I’d planned with R to visit central Europe, stopping into Germany and Poland, as each of us had visited one of those countries but not the other. Since R had a long layover in New York on his way, I decided I would take advantage of a direct HAV-LGW flight and pop in to the UK to visit my great aunt for a few days, and meet R later in Krakow.

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The road back to Havana

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The three amigos’ final day

We waved goodbye to our host family and hopped back into the minibus to take the scenic route back to Havana, passing through Santa Clara and Cienfuegos on the way. Continue reading

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Trinidad

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Matching our surroundings!

Trinidad is a beautiful city. We arrived after the long drive from Camaguey to a lovely casa, the Casa Ramirez, dropped our things and headed out for a late, late lunch and a wander around the city. We headed up to the historical centre and popped into a restaurant B recommended: San Jose, which had a fabulously airconditioned section at the back. Continue reading

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Bayamo and Camaguey

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Bayamo pedestrian boulevard

We set off at the civilised time of 9am, waving goodbye to our lovely hosts at Girasol.

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Santiago de Cuba

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My Santiago de Cuba fan… now with added glitter! (At the Morro Fort)

We took a teeny weeny prop plane across the island to Santiago de Cuba, on the eastern side. This is a smaller, less touristy town, which was at one point the capital before it reverted back to Havana. 

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Havana Day 2

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The three amigos with a pink Chevy

Today we had a guided tour with B, walking through many of the streets we’d seen yesterday, but with the addition of historical facts and stories. Continue reading

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Havana Day 1

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Three weary feet

I was met at the airport by the tour company’s representative who pointed me in the direction of the money changing ATMs before we got into a taxi to drive to the Old Town where R had already gone. It took half an hour or so to get there from the airport, with amazingly little traffic for what I’d expected of a Friday night.

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