Mobile Librarians

I am sooooo looking forward to Wednesday and setting off for France, I have really missed our camping trips. Here is some information about an earlier trip we did to the Dordogne area. (Yes I know it's overrun with Brits, but you can avoid them if you try). We stayed near Sarlat which is wonderful in the summer, full of buskers, music, cafe life and warm, warm nights. Well worth a trip, and the local food specialities are great. Now I'm not very sporty, but even I could manage a canoe trip down the Dordogne. The canoes are the Canadian sort where you sit up on high seats and paddle, just like the movies of the Rockies. We even had to rescue someone who was in the water, which involved some tricky manouvers by my husband while I sat on the bottom of the boat getting a very wet bottom! But the views from the river were great, giving a whole new perspective. Another must see is Rocamadour, a spectacular village that cascades down a cliff face, I can't imagine what building it ...

We love Nice, what a fabulous place, everywhere just buzzes and the scenery is beautiful. Four of us went in November 2001 for the first time and the weather was still really hot. People were on the beach in their cozzis and two brave souls from our party went swimming. The pebble beach shelves away very steeply so be careful if you don't like to go out of your depth too much. We stayed at the Hotel Suisse right on the front, http://www.hotels-exclusive.com/french-riviera.htm fantastic view from our balconies right around the bay, but it was very noisy at night because of the traffic zooming around the corner. We didn't take breakfast at the hotel, it is very close to the Old Quarter so we went just around the corner to the Flower Market where there are lots of little cafes and restaurants. There was much more variety and cheaper too, and what a fantastic location, the flowers, fruit, veg., and local specialities on sale made a great picture. I bought some lavender jam, yummy!...

I am looking forward to my next trip now which is in June. I am going to France with my husband for just over two weeks, taking our car and a trailer, touring around and camping. The prices for the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff were out of our price range (over £600) so we are driving to Dover and crossing to Boulogne with Speedferries (about £136) www.speedferries.com . We have just missed a special offer that is on at the moment, have a look at their website, they have £19 trips and cheap 10 trip deals. Too late for us!! Once in France we are going to head for the Cevennes area looking for a bit of rural peace, after that we shall probably head for my favourite bit of France - the Pyrenees . Bliss, bliss. I just love camping, the freedom, meeting new people, the relaxed life style, late mornings with a croissant, I can't wait! We are busy now researching the route and checking out camp sites, which are usually excellent in France (although the first thing I do is check out th...

Well, we're back from Spain, but not yet recovered! We had the most accident prone holiday ever. Three of us fell over and injured ourselves (no, we were not drunk!), the worst affected among us getting a really hard bang in the mouth and badly injuring her teeth. Lots of time (and money) were spent at the doctors and dentist, followed by R&R instead of gadding about as planned. We did get to see the Alhambra , which was just as wonderful as we hoped it would be, but it did rain all day and we were like drowned rats! We wouldn't have missed it for anything (but seeing it in the sunshine would have made it even better!). www.alhambra.org This was typical of our luck this holiday, it was the only time it rained, the rest of the time was very hot. We also liked Mijas village, which while it is on the tourist trail is a very striking place with wonderful views, see the picture above of the view from the restaurant. Club La Costa, Marina Del Sol village was great and the apart...

Signing off now for a week, we are off to Malaga airport in a few hours time, yipee!!! Looking forward to a week of fun (although the weather is looking a bit dicey, still they always get it wrong!). Will report back later on everything, got to go now and phone my friends and tell them to pack their brolly as well as the swimsuits! Bye!!! Viva Espana!

Another brilliant day trip was to Florence. We flew into Pisa airport on a cold February morning and the waiting coaches took two of us to see Pisa while the other three chose to go straight to Florence. We had a brilliant view of Florence from the hill outside, see the above photo. When we arrived it actually tried to snow (but not for very long) and we soon dived into a cafe for a hot drink! The buildings are amazing, of course, particularly the Dumo, both outside and in. The statue of David is huge, much bigger than I imagined. We met up with the others later and had a lovely Italian lunch, accompanied by much leg pulling and chat from the waiters, I think they must get that charm in their mother's milk, they all seem to have it and it seems to be genuine. We spent the afternoon sightseeing, Ponte Vecchio etc., had a bite to eat later, then piled back into the coaches, back to Pisa and home again quite late. These day trips are tiring, of course, but such a good way to see all t...

Our next holiday is in one weeks time, five of us are going to Spain, near Fuengirola for a week. We are staying here because one member belongs to Club La Costa, www.clublacosta.com and three of us are staying in her apartment and two in an hotel nearby. We are flying with Easyjet from Bristol again, www.easyjet.com . Tip: Sign up for their emailed newsletter, you will get first chance at their special offers and notified when the latest seats are released. Book as soon as you can for the cheapest prices, it gets dearer nearer to departure date. The main reason for the trip is to visit the Alhambra in Granada. (One of us decided she wants to see it before she dies!). www.alhambra.org . I have been emailing coach tour companies today, tying up the loose ends before departure. It looks like we shall be going on a day trip with Viajes Torreblanca, their website has lots of good coach trips on it: http://www.viajestorreblanca.com/ we will give a report of it when we get back. There ar...

This was our first trip to Dublin, friendliest of cities! Two of us went in June 1999, flying with Ryanair from Bristol, we were there in 40 minutes - great view of Dublin Bay as we came in! We treated ourselves to a superb old hotel called Buswells, very central, great full Irish breakfasts and old world charm. They have their own website, www.quinnhotels.com/buswells.html , but it's worth checking a few others for special offers. Bewley's Coffee House in Grafton Street is an Irish institution and a must see. Check out the stained glass windows. The cakes are fantastic too! Take the open-top bus tour, worth every penny to see all the sights. Another thing all the tourists do is have their picture taken with Molly Malone's statue, what a buxom girl she was! When we were there it was the annual Bloomsday Celebration. This takes place on June 16th and is a celebration of James Joyce and his book Ulysses. Everyone dresses in old fashioned costumes and reenacts the events of ...

If you want to visit the real Spain as opposed to the plastic one for tourists then Algeciras is a good bet. It isn't tarted up or full of English Pubs etc. It's a real, untouched, slightly scruffy town full of ordinary people, the way Spain used to be. However, there are lots of interesting places nearby to visit if the wanderer in you takes over. The most obvious one is just across the water - Gibraltar. Catch the local bus to the boarder and then walk across, cars can wait for hours to get in. Gibraltar is a British Colony (by choice!) and looks just like Britain used to in the 1950s, a real time warp. But it's a shoppers paradise because everything is so cheap (tax free). We took the cable car up to the top of the rock, fantastic view, but watch out for those evil monkeys! It's unnerving the way they stare at you, one even tried to get into the cafe while we were having a coffee, he came up the steps and was rattling the door handle! Another good trip is a visit to ...

Barcelona is a fantastic, buzzing city. We took a four night trip there in April 1999. The architechture is slightly unreal and jaw dropping, Gaudi and Miro have made the city unforgettable. Take a trip on the open-top bus, you will see all the main sights and orientate yourself at the same time. You can get on and off wherever you like all day long, it's a great way to get around. Our hotel was very central to the Ramblas, very Spanish and atmospheric. It was the Hotel Meson Castilla , www.mesoncastilla.com , we liked it a lot, we don't go for bog standard bland if we can help it. This one is full of lovely antiques, also the breakfast is included and quite good. TIP: Ask for a room at the rear, our's was at the front and the rubbish was collected very early each day. The Sagrada Familia is still stunning, no matter how many pictures you have seen previously, but we weren't brave enough to climb up the inside, the people at the top looked like ants! Gaudi's Parc ...

Went for a walk along the Tarka Trail today, the sun was shining and it really was Devon, Glorious Devon. I know we love our holidays abroad but on a day like today it is hard to beat living here. We are so lucky to be in such a beautiful part of the country, especially this time of the year when everything is renewing itself and the crowds haven't arrived yet so we have got it to ourselves. I'm not against the grockles, I'm one myself whenever I can be, but I did enjoy today. P.S. Here are some friends we met along the way!

The first time we did a trip as a group five of us went to Venice for the day. Yes! that's right, for the day! We flew from Exeter airport at some ungodly hour of the morning, arriving in Venice about 9.00 a.m. The company organising it was called "Just For A Day" and they did an excellent job of organising a brilliant day. We packed a weeks worth of sightseeing into about 12 hours and were still standing at the end. We all fell in love with Venice, we thought we knew what to expect because Venice is so well known and photographed, but the reality was something else! St Mark's Square for coffee at Quadri's, wandering the streets, standing on the Rialto admiring the view, a visit to a glass factory, a trip down the Grand Canal on a gondola, Bellini's at Harry's Bar, you name it, we did it. The weather was cold, but bright with a wonderful light. The only problem we had was coming back, one of the passengers never turned up, we waited over a hour, the rep. w...

Our last trip as a group was to Paris, a return trip for three of us and the first time for one. How can anyone not want to return to Paris, it's so great - open, walkable, not too big, fantastic architecture, lots to do, you could never get enough of Paris. We booked our flights with www.opodo.co.uk flying with British Airways from Bristol. The prices with Opodo were cheaper than on BA's own site, they often are it's worth checking. Book as soon as you can and you will get the cheapest flights, the nearer the date the more the price goes up, or go to www.skyscanner.net which is a great site for showing you the cheap deals. We stayed at a decent mid-price hotel near the Eiffel Tower called the Eiffel Park. We paid 99 Euros for a twin room and booked it with www.france-hotel-guide.com . We did all the usual tourist things, but it was great. Up the Eiffel Tower to the top, on the Seine in a Bateaux Mouche, sat in the parks and eat our crepes, etc. The Musee d'Orsay is ...

We are a group of four or five "mobile" librarians, or put it another way, ladies who work in the library who love to travel! Holidays are high on our list of priorities and we are usually either planning one, on holiday or just back from one. We believe it is more fun to travel independantly making all our own arrangements, doing the research on the net. It usually works out cheaper too! We though we would like to share our experiences, they might help someone else, or just show that sisters are doing it for themselves! We shall be sharing our past group holidays, plus some others that we have taken with partners or other friends and our preparations for future trips of course. Bring it on!!! So please feel free to comment or ask any questions, we would love to help if we can, after all that is what we do everyday in our jobs!