Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Bagni Regina Giovanna)

    This site dates back to at least the Roman times and was altered to become a defensive harbour. It’s also long been used for swimming and bathing, and swimming was what Bev and Steve decided to do. I just had a little paddle, whilst Gordon had a little sit down.

    The view down into the secluded little bay, with the water being clear and inviting. Although not so inviting that I wanted to swim in it.

    A few people came down to take photos, but our groups were the only ones to either swim or paddle in the water. The steps were slightly more rickety than I’d have liked, but were fortunately stable.

    All very idyllic, although there were a few pieces of green glass which had to be avoided. It’s a shame that people think that taking a bottle down which then gets smashed is somehow a good idea….

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Lemons)

    One thing that surprised me across the region was just how large the lemons are that they grow here. I like lemons, especially when in chocolate, desserts, drinks or cakes, and they were certainly plentiful and cheap….

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One (Villa Bellavista Hotel in Praiano)

    This was the accommodation in Praiano after our first day of walking.

    The entrance area seemed welcoming and I liked how the trees were growing through the patio. The check-in process didn’t take too long and the hotel was just a short walk from the town centre.

    The balcony of the hotel with some rather lovely views over the sea.

    The bedroom was clean, tidy and modern in terms of its decor. I didn’t like the lack of room information folder and the unpriced minibar and there was unfortunately no view. So nothing exceptional, although the wi-fi worked well when I wanted to upload some files.

    The breakfast was decent, there were muffins, tomatoes, croissants, cold meats, cheeses, doughnuts, biscuits, yoghurts, cereals and bread. The juices ran out a little too regularly and weren’t replaced particularly quickly, but the coffee was readily available. The staff didn’t really engage with us, but the surroundings were comfortable nonetheless.

    One thing that did irritate me about the hotel is that booking.com said that the total fee would be taken by card including the local tourist tax. At the hotel they claimed this was incorrect and the tourist tax would be taken in cash. The hotel then promptly proceeded to charge me twice for the entire stay, although they did apologise and refund one of those charges promptly when I told them about it a week after.

    The hotel is currently rated the worst in Praiano on TripAdvisor, coming 20th out of 20 hotels in the town. I can see where the problems causing that are, as although I didn’t intend to use the swimming pool it was shut and no-one mentioned that in advance, there was a general lack of information and the payment debacle I had wasn’t ideal. There’s a remarkable review on TripAdvisor on how the hotel managed to lock a guest out that’s quite involved and exciting. Overall, I probably wouldn’t stay here again, but the quality of sleep was good and the hotel was clean, so it was by no means an entirely negative stay.

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three (Photos)

    And, a little belatedly, photos from day three.

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One (Tree)

    Just a tree in Praiano, but I thought it was nicely under-lit.

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three (Chiosco Bar San Costanzo)

    We arrived in Termini ready for the main part of our walk and went on the hunt for a little drink. I was a little put off by the staff member who gave the hard sell to sit in this roadside cafe arrangement, but the others had started to sit down and it seemed an acceptable place for a drink.

    The owner and what I think was his son were friendly, although there was quite a lot of hard selling to get us to buy things. When we sat down we were the only customers at the cafe, although by the time we left nearly all of the outside seats had been taken. I say outside seats, there actually weren’t any inside seats, so I could have just put all the seats had been taken.

    There are a surprisingly number of reviews on TripAdvisor about this restaurant and some are very positive, but a few state that they believe they’ve been the victim of a scam. This isn’t entirely a surprise as the prices are a little vague and the menu is handwritten. We ordered three Limoncello spritzers each and they were actually reasonably priced at €4, although other tables might have been charged a different amount.

    The others went for hot meals, but I went for something simpler, the Caprese salad, which was effectively just tomatoes and cheese. The owner claimed that everything was home grown and although I’m unsure about that, the tomatoes tasted fresh with a rich flavour, the cheese was flavoursome and this was topped off by one of the better olive oils that I’ve had. For the €7 this cost I thought that was entirely satisfactory.

    The dining environment was partly rather lovely and partly bloody awful. The roadside seats outside gave us an al fresco dining experience (on that note, apparently al fresco in Italian refers to being in prison rather than outside dining) but it also meant that we were a little exposed to exhaust fumes every few minutes. Turning down the additional items available for sale would have frustrated me if I was dining alone, but we left that to Gordon who dealt with the matter with some elegance and clarity of mind.

  • Leek – Cobblers

    This small pub is located on a side street near to Leek town centre and it had a welcoming and community vibe to it. I liked the pub’s policy that there are no televisions, something I’d prefer most pubs to do….

    There were a few real ales to choose from, although nothing that really interested me as everything was either a bit generic or quite light. However, the beer I ordered was well kept and was at the appropriate temperature.

    There was a little snug area to the rear of the pub which had a number of board games, including Connect 4, Guess Who, chess, dominoes and so on. There were a few dogs in the pub and most customers seemed to know each other, so I imagine it’s a popular pubs amongst locals. All in all, this is a decent community pub and the prices were towards the lower end of the scale. Friendly, clean and comfortable, all rather lovely.

  • Leek – Google Car

    This is the first time I’ve seen the Google Streetview car in some time (it’s not very clear in the photo, but it’s the lane to the left of us at the front). Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have been recording…..

  • Leek – Market Cross

    Leek’s five-metre high Market Cross is post-medieval and probably dates to around the sixteenth century. Nearly every market would have once had one of these crosses although many have been lost, damaged or altered over the centuries. The plinth of the cross is nineteenth century and there have been later repairs to the entire cross.

    The market cross was moved from its current location to Cemetery Road in 1806 and it remained there until 1986 when a decision was made to return it.

  • Leek – Peak Weavers

    Peak Weavers is a B&B and restaurant where we had a large booking for an evening meal. The building was once a grand private residence, more recently a convent and today it’s well maintained and has an inviting feel to it. Having said that, my first impressions weren’t entirely positive as the welcome seemed just a little stilted. However, the restaurant area was clean, tidy and organised.

    This is the potted slow cooked ham hock and it was excellent, with the ham being tender, flavourful and light. The ham fell apart and it was complemented by the egg sauce which topped it in the pot. The garnish added to the presentation of the dish and there were capers which gave additional texture to the meal. The sour dough bread was light and perhaps home-made, with the price point of £7.50 being entirely realistic.

    This salmon dish had a tomato crust alongside a new potato and pea shoot salad. We also had vegetables and potatoes for the table which were plentiful and which were well seasoned, although I didn’t photograph these. The portion of salmon was generous and it was perfectly cooked and had a depth of taste. The salad added texture and it was all well presented and at the appropriate temperature. For the price of £15.95 this again was perfectly priced given the additional sides which were offered.

    I couldn’t find fault with the food, which I admit is quite rare for me, although I’d have liked a little more black pepper. The black pepper wasn’t on the table, but a staff member brought a pepper grinder over on request when I asked for it with the starter. I kept it for the main course, but the manager seized it and when I asked for it back the request wasn’t fulfilled. I’m a little unsure why the restaurant is so protective of its black pepper, but nonetheless, this was an excellent meal.

    I liked that the menu was relatively limited in size, so that there was a focus more on quality. There wasn’t though any nod towards locally sourced ingredients on the menu, which I’d have ideally liked. The service was professional, although not particularly engaging, but the food was served promptly and we were never left waiting for service (well, I was left waiting for the black pepper, but I won’t dwell on that).

    Certainly for the quality of food being offered the prices actually seemed just a little low, but I can understand the need to be remain competitive in terms of price. All very professional and I’d recommend this for a leisurely group meal.