HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Blog

Wizz Air (Faro to London Gatwick South)

I had the choice of paying about £4 for a convenient bus service from the hotel to the airport or traipsing two miles along lanes. Anyway, here we are.

The view over to Faro on my walk. It was far too hot, but since it was about 08:00 in the morning, it wasn’t yet at its hottest.

Safely at the delights of Faro Airport.

The airport felt busy, with more non-Schengen flights than Schengen, which is unusual for a European airport. It seems though that there are more passengers to the UK and Ireland than every other destination added together, presenting a challenge when you have to have two segregated areas of the airport.

Ryanair has recently complained to the Portuguese Government about border control delays at Faro, Lisbon and Porto, with long delays now being commonplace. As mentioned, Faro has a lot of flights to the UK and this is clearly placing a burden on the airport authorities and the volume of passengers was high. It took me 38 minutes to get from the outside of the terminal to airside and through border control, which is longer than I’d normally expect but it doesn’t feel at all unreasonable although others have waited much longer recently. As I’m ever cautious, I had allowed an extra hour in case of delay, but this must be traumatic for anyone who is late for their flight. You can pay for premium security, but I’m not sure if that follows through to border control which is where the longer wait it.

I’ve been fortunate over the last year with my Priority Pass card, I’ve never been refused or had to wait more than a few minutes, but I did suspect I’d struggle today. However, I timed it well to ensure that I could charge devices and have a quick breakfast in the lounge. The pasteis de nata was delicious, the coffee was rich, there were endless crisps and they had a small bottle of awful Portuguese beer, so I was happy.

At the gate and there’s an odd glass wall here which I assume is a throwback to a previous airport set-up, but it has created something of a pinch-point now. There wasn’t much seating downstairs, but there was a fair amount tucked away upstairs.

I wasn’t surprised that we needed to get on buses to the aircraft, nearly every departure seemed to be a bus gate.

There are several airlines lined up in the background, with at least five of them being back to the UK.

The boarding process, and aircraft G-WUND is the same one that took me out to Faro a couple of days ago.

As the seating Gods had given me a window seat, I thought I’d take a photo of the views over southern Portugal.

Flying over northern Spain.

As I had taken photos of other bits of coastline, here’s the UK and it was much cloudier which pleased me. I’ve had enough of the heat to last me the rest of the year.

There’s London in the background with all of its grey glory and I accept that I’m not likely to win any photographic competitions with this effort. The flight was, yet again, comfortable and organised, with everything being clean and tidy. The crew were friendly, the pilots made clear announcements and the service was just efficient. And no-one applauded when the aircraft landed, so there’s another win.

Back at Gatwick Airport and the security process was faultless with no queue at all, although I’ve rarely had any problems at Gatwick in the past. All told, a very lovely flight and another bargain for £8.99.

July 21, 2025
Norwich – Anchor Brewery Stores [Closed] (Two Julians)

When walking down Coslany Street with my friend Adrian, he was taking photos of the former Bullards Brewery and I had never really given much attention to this, which was evidently once a pub within the brewery building. The Norfolk Public Houses web-site lists some of the former licencees, including Richard Bullard, Sir Harry Bullard and Edward Bullard. There are very few newspaper reports of misbehaviour at the pub, which is unlike most other venues at the city, but I imagine the brewery was particularly careful to avoid any trouble at their effective home.

The pub here first opened in 1868, although there was a brewery tap at the previous building, and it remained open for just shy of 100 years as it closed in 1966. The brewery advertised in the press ahead of their opening and the thought of the selection of imperial, bitter, ales and stout sounds really quite decadent, like a Brewdog of their day. But probably cheaper.

It was brought back to life as Anchor Quay Wine Bar between 1986 and 2001, but then it closed again. I can’t help thinking that this would make a really lovely micro-pub and the historic surroundings would add substantially to the excitement of such an arrangement. George Plunkett took a photo of the pub in 1984, when it was being used as an estate agents.

The brewery itself was founded in 1837 as Bullards & Watts, although the Watts element left in 1847 and this substantial brewery was constructed between 1867 and 1868. The brewery was acquired by Watney Mann in 1963 and it ceased beer production in 1968. Numerous brewery buildings have survived and have since been turned into residential properties, but the distinctive chimney was demolished.

July 21, 2025
Limoges – Rue de la Boucherie

[I wrote this post in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

Rue de la Boucherie, or the Street of the Butchers, has become one of the tourist destinations of Limoges because of the attractive nature of the properties which are on it. The Shambles in York has become a similar tourist destination for the same reason, although the properties couldn’t be much more different.

The street has been the home to butchers and their shops since the Middle Ages, with some of the properties still owned by the families who have traded here for many years. There are 52 homes along the street, which date from as early as the thirteenth century.

Also on the street, although unfortunately there’s a van in front of it in my above photo, is La Chapelle Saint-Aurélien, a small chapel in the street (I visited inside later in the week, when there wasn’t a van in front of it). This is owned by the Guild of Butchers and dates to the fifteenth century.

Below are some other photos of the street. There was some construction work at the end of the street with scaffolding up, because there was a relatively large fire which badly damaged some of the properties in February 2018.

July 21, 2025
Limoges – St. Michel des Lions

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

This Gothic style church is in the centre of Limoges and was mostly primarily constructed between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. There is though some interior work, primarily the exterior walls, which dates to the twelfth century.

From the eastern end of the church, the ball on top of the spire is rather unusual. It dates from 1810 and was added when the previous spire fell down after being hit with lightning. The military commander who was in charge of replacing it thought that it would look better with a ball, so it was duly added. It has since caused some controversy, some like it, some don’t….

The exterior is guarded by two stone lions, hence the name of the church.

These aren’t perhaps the fiercest lions that I’ve ever seen. I fear that weathering has rather taken its toll over the years.

Inside the church the nave is relatively plain in terms of decoration and the columns are thin and slender. Indeed, there is a problem here…. The columns are so thin and slender that the pillars are actually bending, as is particularly visible by the ones at the rear. Although they supported the roof for many centuries, work has now taken place to ensure that they are no longer load bearing. Just in case….

A wider view of the nave.

Two photos of the interior of the church. I had a slightly limited amount of time in the church as I had visited just after mass had finished, and I got the impression that they were looking to close up. However, it’s a glorious church and there are numerous side chapels located in the aisles.

July 20, 2025
London Craft Beer Festival 2025

My friend Simon mentioned last year about going to the London Craft Beer Festival, but I wondered if it was a bit expensive and so I didn’t get a ticket to join him. By chance, he mentioned last week that he knew someone selling a ticket at a much lower cost of £30, so I was there without much hesitation. Here’s the walk to Magazine, where this year’s event was being held.

There’s Susie and Simon, with the former’s efforts somehow getting us to the front of the queue. I hadn’t let myself get too excited about the event in case the ticket didn’t come to pass, but all was well and it’s fair to say that the excitement soon started when I had the wristband safely around my wrist.

Well, that’s exciting straight away.

The first beer of the day. The concept here is that all beers are free of charge and I won’t list here what I tried, but I did ensure that my Untappd remain updated for anyone who is interested.

We grabbed a table outside, but it soon became apparent that there was large amounts of seating, so this wasn’t an issue. Inside there were also fans and air conditioning, they didn’t want their beer drinkers over-heating, and I was happy to drink to that forward-thinking philosophy.

One of the two internal halls.

This was all so much bigger than I expected. There were some issues with the delayed opening where we left in the sun and that was sub-optimal, but once the event got going, it all felt well organised. There were maps dotted around of where all of the breweries were, but I’d need more than one afternoon to really visit every one that interested me.

I was impressed that there were no real queues at any of the brewery stands, you could get served nearly immediately.

There was a separate American beer bar and the list of options here was much wider than I had expected. As I’m not planning to visit the US for a while, this was an opportunity to tick some beers off.

One of the bar staff modelling a bottle of beer for my Untappd photo.

There was free water available of the sparkling and still options.

That path was what Liam and I walked on the Capital Challenge a few weeks ago…..

There’s Simon chatting away about Brazilian beer. I was pleased that the glasses were made of plastic, rather than, er, glass. So we had branded plastics, which means I could keep it without fear of it getting broken on the aircraft. Susie picked up a heap of free merchandise, which I’m merrily carrying around Portugal now, including baseball hats, t-shirts, lanyards and stickers.

I like a bit of Vault City, I should be visiting their new tap room later in the year.

A free ice cream and a beer slushie from Vault City which made me love them even more.

Simon wanted to go to the Vault City tasting, which was a marvellous idea, and this beer was handed around at the end of the session before.

One of the beers from the Vault City tasting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this evening and the atmosphere was informal and friendly throughout. There were no issues of anyone over-indulging, despite the large amount of free beer that was available. The organisation was better than I had expected, the scale of the event was broader than I had realised and the speed of service was faster than I had anticipated. I was very much surprised and delighted, so I think that I might just be back for next year’s event….

July 20, 2025
Limoges – O’Panda

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

I forgot to eat anything yesterday, so today I thought that I’d do the reverse, and eat a lot. Which meant a trip to the O’Panda Chinese buffet, which is part of a small national chain. That would certainly help recover the lost calories that I didn’t eat yesterday.

Although, to be honest, technically I didn’t forget to eat yesterday. I never forget to eat. But it was so hot that I just managed to survive on cold Yop yoghurt drinks for the entire day….

O’Panda is a large restaurant, which can seat over 250 people, and when I got there just before opening time there was already a small queue. This is clearly where the locals eat, and I can’t criticise them for that. It’s a shame that it isn’t a little more central though, since it took me over thirty minutes to walk there from the centre of Limoges.

There were lots of food counters visible, although looking neat and tidy. And very appetising, but I sat patiently and waited for my drink order to be taken before rushing off to the buffet table. On which point, and bearing in mind I was so hot, I was delighted to discover that they give you a litre bottle of ice cold tap water for free. Given that water is often charged for, this was a most useful bonus to my fruit based Fanta I’d ordered.

Sometimes you just wish Dylan and Leon were around. They’d have liked this.

Cold meat selection, now Cosmo need to do better in this regard in Norwich….

I was delighted to find that there was a large salad section. Well, not particularly delighted at that, but more specifically delighted that they had sun-dried tomatoes.

The desserts selection was simply marvellous as there were doughnuts, profiteroles, cakes and more importantly than all, an ice cream freezer. This could well be a favourite location of Dylan and Leon should they ever get the chance to visit…

Given the ridiculously hot temperatures outside this ice cream freezer was a real delight, and I had to be careful on my many trips to top up that the staff didn’t think I was being ridiculously greedy. So I walked different ways, meaning I’m sure that they didn’t notice.

Overall, I thought that the whole meal was perfectly acceptable. The environment was clean, the staff were engaging and friendly (and I managed the whole transaction in French, which was a bonus) and the food was neatly labelled.

OK, the quality of some items such as the onion rings and calamari wasn’t top notch, but it was acceptable. But, I’m giving them a recommendation because of the ice cream, it’s just what was needed on a hot day. The total cost was around £15 including a drink.

July 20, 2025
Limoges – Jean Burger

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

A visit here is part of my on-going plan to dine at the best rated burger restaurant in every city that I go to. Jean Burger is very slightly away from the main tourist areas of Limoges, but only a short walk to get here. It’s easy to find as the signage is clear and it faces a main road.

I liked this, located just outside of the main door. It’s easy to understand, it’s clear and it’s not too gaudy. Restaurants with complex prix frie arrangements perhaps just make themselves look unwelcoming to visitors.

And this is beautiful in its implementation. Being British, I’m often not entirely sure what to do when entering a restaurant or cafe. Is there table service? Do I order at the counter? Do I take a seat myself? Is the food brought over or do I collect? The arrangements here are easy to understand and the menu is visible again for those who need a reminder.

The server was full of energy and he was more than willing to explain the menu and the options available. It was a true friendly welcome, and there was a pride in the different burgers, hot dogs and sides that customers could choose from. I went for the Basque burger, which the server then said was his favourite, which had cheese, chorizo and rocket.

The server said that the burgers were served rare, which is to be expected in France. I usually think I’m being brave when ordering burgers to be medium, and that is my usual preference, but I went with the flow of having a burger that was only partly cooked. It’s important to get the full experience…. Oh, and they had Dr. Pepper, my preferred drink in the United States, so that was a bonus.

So, the food. The curly fries were excellent, there weren’t greasy, they had a pleasant seasoning on and they were firm on the exterior and fluffy on the interior. The burger bun was particularly good and was one of the best I’ve had, with a crispy texture and a real depth of flavour. The burger itself was rare, and that is a texture I’m not entirely used to, but the quality was excellent. It had a pleasant flavour and the other ingredients in the burger added extra taste and crunch.

Overall, I thought that this was a well run location, with customer service really under-pinning all that they did. I got there at 11:50, deliberately just before lunch as I had read that it got busy. And busy it definitely got, but with an interesting range of clientele. There were school children, older customers, staff seemingly on a lunch break and the atmosphere was laid back and comfortable. I didn’t see any other tourists to the city, or not that were obvious to me, but it’s clear from reviews that they do get a lot of them. Definitely recommended.

July 20, 2025
Bar Billiards Table Treks – Venue 1 : Artichoke

I’m not normally one for video, as it reminds me that my hairline is receding faster than is entirely ideal, but a few months ago Zak and I had a really rather good idea that we’d play at every bar billiards table in Norwich. The twist is that we’re only filming the first game at each venue, because Zak famously takes a while to warm up. It’s like giving myself a tiny glimmer of hope before he inevitably demolishes me. Zak has been my official bar billiards trainer since 2023 and I will one day be able to see some of the shots that he can pull off, let alone actually play them.

Pete has heroically taken on the role of cameraman for the series, and he’s done a marvellous job filming the first instalment. The next one will be along soon, assuming I can handle more video evidence of my sub-optimal playing technique. And just to be clear, it’s not meant to be a competitive series unless, of course, I happen to win. In which case, it very much is.

July 20, 2025
Faro – Old Tavern

Unsure of where to head for an evening meal, I decided to go earlier rather than later before the crowd descended, it was a Saturday evening and I had already over-heated in the three minutes since I’d left the hotel. I’m actually not entirely sure I should have seated myself at the external tables, but some others did and it wasn’t overly busy when I arrived so all was well.

There’s no printed menu, instead the menu board is on the wall or, for the larger parties, it was brought to the table as if it was some sacred text. I’m not overly picky in general, but this menu was a delight as I would have merrily had anything on here.

The beer was Sagres, which is never going to be a drink of choice, but it was cold and refreshing, so just what I needed in the extreme heat. It looked an authentic menu with fresh options, with the on-line reviews being positive. There was no price list for the drinks, but they didn’t take advantage of that opportunity to overcharge or anything similar. I would just add that I was sitting outside as I needed to be cooled down, I won’t be changing my general habits and I was pleased to note that there were no circling seagulls, herons or storks ready to pounce on my food.

Mackerel is one of my favourite fishes and I can’t say that I get to see a mackerel salad on the menu very often. This was delicious, with the tomatoes being fresh and rich in taste, along with some salad stuff to make it look pretty. The bread came with the dish for free and it was filling, seemed authentic and had a depth of flavour.

It took something of an age to pay, which seemed slightly odd to me as there had a real pressure on tables, but the beer and mackerel salad came to around £11, which I thought was really rather reasonable. There’s something of a theatrical performance from one of the staff members, but I think that’s part of the character of the venue and although I rather got the impression he was getting annoyed at a couple of tables, the service I received was always friendly. Either way, it was all really rather lovely with good food, a decent price and only a minor wait for the bill. And in the relentless Algarve heat, I’ll take any excuse to sit in the shade with a cold, if entirely uninspiring, beer.

July 20, 2025
Wizz Air (London Gatwick South to Faro)

Arriving at Gatwick Airport on the early morning bus…. Instead of the cinematic sweep up the driveway to an impressive departures hall, you’re unceremoniously dumped at the back of the building, which looks more like the loading dock of an industrial estate than the gateway to international travel, but as it was 05:00 it was too early to care much about this. There was no queue at security, so I was left pondering slightly why I had left my hotel so early, but better to be early than late.

I haven’t flown from Gatwick Airport for some time and I wasn’t sure if there would be space in one of the lounges using my Priority Card, but it’s fair to say that My Lounge was not packed.

Lounge food and drink which was typical fare for British airport lounges, some dry and uninteresting food alongside a dreadful lager. The sausage, bacon and hash brown were OK, I poured myself just a small amount of Cruzcampo since it was still early morning, took one mouthful and realised just how dreadful it is. The orange juice was out of cheap cartons, but in fairness to the whole arrangement, the coffee, food and orange juice was all filling enough.

Mine was the 08:00 Wizz Air flight to Faro and as usual for the airline, everything was efficient, clearly signed and without delay. There were more bag checks than usual which always adds to the drama, but once again, this didn’t impact me.

It was raining when I walked to the aircraft, it always feels a shame leaving the UK when there’s weather that I like. The aircraft registration was G-WUND, the same one that took me to an icy Tallinn a few months ago. The seating Gods had allocated me a window seat, so that was a rather handy arrangement.

Nearly at Faro and the aircraft toured up and down the coast a bit before landing. We had experienced a delay on departure, the reason for which was never mentioned, but as Wizz Air pad their schedules so much, we still seemed to manage to arrive on time. The pilots were generally decent on the number of announcements, the crew members were all personable and I fell asleep for most of the flight so don’t really know much of what happened.

It was very quickly evident that it was too hot.

The border control process felt a little chaotic, but these new machines for UK passports seemed interesting, but I wasn’t called to try them. The whole queueing arrangement was a little chaotic in places and it felt like a long wait, but it was 31 minutes in the end, which isn’t entirely unreasonable given this is a busy time of year for the airport. It does feel though that the airport in general is creaking in places with passenger numbers, so yet another extension to the building seems likely for future years.

Anyway, this was another very satisfactory experience given that the flight cost £8.99, the flight was comfortable, the boarding process was efficient and the crew were friendly. I am though getting the creeping sense that most airports in Europe are about five million passengers beyond what they were built for.

July 20, 2025