My travelling year in 2009

2010 is well and truly here, and with snow on the ground in Bristol, I’ve been reliving the memories of some of the sunnier places I visited last year - here’s the round up the places I travelled and enjoyed in 2009.

By the way, if you enjoy my blog, please do nominate me for best travel blog at the Bloggies before 12 January 2010.

Berlin for a girly break in April

April saw me on a 4 day break to Berlin in Germany with my teenage daughter and her friends. We were blessed with sunny spring weather and loved our stay at the fabulous budget boutique Circus Hotel, where the girls had their own apartment and the Mums were banished to their room at the other side of the courtyard. We saw the sights on foot, bus, s-bahn and rickshaw and generally soaked up the arty and trendy vibe of Berlin, an ideal city to please the most picky teenager. For more Berlin stories read;
Checkpint Charlie and other Berlin Wall stories
Blue Glass reflections at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Our 36 Hours in Berlin

Val Cenis, France for a family ski-break in April

       
Hardly had we returned from Berlin when we were off again to join the boys on a family ski-ing break in Val Cenis in France, not too far from the Italian border. This was a last minute bargain break at the end of the ski season, in which we squeezed ourselves into a modest self-catering apartment. My kids are mad-keen snowboarders, while I’m a rather more sedate skier who likes to break up a few easy runs with long chocolat chaud stops in between. Meanwhile my children whizz past me showing no fear, only pausing to blague the price of an expensive plate of pommes frites or a crepe. For tales from Val Cenis read;
The Good Friday service in the ski resort of Val Cenis in France
Keeping my ski helmet on in Val Cenis, France
Savoyard food specialities to enjoy from the French Alps

Lebanon for a girl’s road trip

 
My week in Lebanon, touring the country with a friend who works there was a real highlight. I didn’t know what to expect of Lebanon but was blown away by the variety and accessibility of what was on offer for those who want a taste of the Arab World at it’s most cosmopolitan and sophisticated. We didn’t spend too long in the glitzy building site that is Beirut, but got out of the capital to walk the mountain trails, eat mezze in the souks of Sidon, see some amazing archaeological and historic sites and taste our way through some world class wines. For stories from Lebanon read;
St Anthony’s Monastery of Qozhaya in Lebanon - video
The Cedars of Lebanon - Tannourine Cedars Reserve - Video
Mezze Memories in Lebanon

Zakynthos in July for our family beach holiday
 

July took us back to the Greek island of Zakynthos, where my sister lives with her Greek husband Denis and juggles family life with running two hotels. Although we’ve been going for the last 20 years, there are always surprises when you get away from the main resorts and we enjoyed meeting some locals, like Yannis Vardakastanis who founded the Earth Sea and Sky Wildlife centre at the beautiful Gerakas Turtle beach, Timotheos and Christina-Maria the stylish wine-makers at Oenpoli winery, and our photographer friend and bar owner, Rob Wallace and his wife Ritsa at Freddie’s Beach Bar at Tsilivi. I hope I’ve convinced you that there’s more to this island than its package holiday image might suggest. For tales from Zakynthos read;
How to make delicious Greek stuffed tomatoes
How to find a real Greek Taverna on Zakynthos
My top three beaches on Zakynthos

Istria, Croatia for a family resort break

In August I took a 4 day break with my family as a guest of the Istrian Tourism board, who invited a number of bloggers to this beautiful province of northern Croatia. The kids were smitten with our modern resort hotel Laguna Molindrio with it’s two pools and view of the sea and we swam and cycled through the pine woods that fringe the shore. There was plenty to interest the culture lover in me in the old Venetian ports of Porec and Rovinj nearby as well as fresh seafood, local truffles and the picturesque hill towns that reminded me of Tuscany. For more Istrian travel stories read;
Visiting the hill towns of Grozjnan and Motovan in Istria
My Istria Travel diary - podcast and slide show
Cycling by the sea in Istria

Brittany in August to go fishing for crabs

Another short break took me with my daughter to visit an old friend in Vannes in Brittany, in an effort to improve both our language skills. My friend lives in a beautiful spot overlooking the marina at Conleau on the Gulf of Morhiban and we took a day trip to the island of Houat where we swam, sunbathed and had fun fishing for crabs. Unfortunately our catch was rather insignificant, so we had to pay a visit to the fishmonger on the way home to get some more respectable specimens to eat for dinner. For a few fishing tales from Brittany read;
How to prepare a crab a la Francaise in Brittany - video
Gone fishing for crabs on Ile de Houat in Brittany
A postcard from Conleau near Vannes in Brittany

Lisbon in November for a romantic weekend a deux

At the end of November, I visited Lisbon for a 3 day weekend break with my husband, leaving the kids behind. We loved our welcoming boutique hotel which was ideally placed for sightseeing and wandering the back streets. We visited the Monastery of Jeronimus and the Castelo de Sao Jorge, getting around on the modern metro, old fashioned trams and elevador funiculars that climb hills of the city, saving the legs of the weary traveller. We ate our way through as many local specialities as we could including the port, salt cod and seafood and the custard tarts Pasteis de Nata that are the sweet symbol of Lisbon. For more Lisbon stories read;
An autumn weekend in Lisbon - Podcast
An authentic Portuguese meal at Casa do Alentejo in Lisbon
A rainy day at the monastery of Jeronimus

Munich in December with my parents to see the Christmas markets

To round off the year I took a 3 day weekend break with my parents to visit the Christmas markets and get into the holiday spirit. I loved the feeling of Christmas in the air, especially in the atmospheric market we found in the courtyard of the Residenz with local choirs and Alpine horns playing, the smell of gingerbread, sizzling sausages and mulled wine and the dusting of snow on the rooftops. I loved the cosy feel of sitting in a condotorei, having our kafee and kuchen, but I did feel the cold when the temperature dropped below freezing. For more Munich stories read;
Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets - podcast
Empty splendour at the Resindenz in Munich
Bavarian pork knuckle at Haxnbauer in Munich

So that was 2009 and where will 2010 take me? The only thing booked is a visit to the Passion play at Oberammergau in July, which happens only every 10 years, so it’s really a once in a lifetime thing. Other than that the plans are fluid for the spring - I’m waiting to see where the cheap flights, friends around the world and any other offers may tempt me. What are your travel plans for 2010 - I’d love to hear them. And if they bring you to Bristol in 2010, I’d love to show you my city.

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Video - Saving the Caretta Caretta turtle on Zakynthos - Greece

If you’re interested in finding about the Caretta Caretta Turtles on Zakynthos (Zante) in Greece and the work that’s going on to preserve them, then you should enjoy my video interview with Yannis Vardakastanis , founder of the Earth, Sea and Sky Wildlife centre at Gerakas Beach on Zakynthos.

You may have already read my written interview with Yannis in a previous article but here’s the video version, to give you the real flavour of the place.

Click here to view the embedded video above

Gerakas beach is one of my favourite beaches on Zakynthos, because, unlike many of the highly developed beach areas on the island, it has remained unspoilt due to the protection given to the turtles nesting sites. For this reason there is no building or easy access to the cliffs which over look the beach and the use of the beach is also controlled, to protect the turtle nesting sites.

Yannis’ family have lived in this area for generations, and as founder of the Earth Sea and Sky Wildlife Centre he has been a leading voice in the preservation of the Loggerhead or Caretta Caretta turtles on Zakynthos, a message which is not always popular with those who would like to develop the area further for tourism. Even though there are many tensions between the forces of conservation and commercial tourism, the Turtles are a major tourist attraction on Zakynthos, but is important to see them in a way that preserves them for future generations.

If you want to stay close to the beach in eco-friendly stone built villas, furnished in traditional Greek style, then visit the Ionian Eco-Villagers website to find out more and Yannis also runs regular turtle-friendly boat trips on a catamaran through his eco-tourism company Nature World Travel.

Resources

Earth Sea and Sky Wildlife Centre at Gerakas, Zakynthos
Ionian Eco-Villagers - for Eco friendly traditional stone build villas close to Gerakas turtle beach
Nature World Travel - for turtle-friendly boat trips around the bay

Read other articles about Zakynthos

Saving the Caretta Caretta Turtles on Zakynthos - interview
My top three beaches on Zakynthos
How to run a beach bar on Zakynthos - video
A wine tasting at Oenolipi winery on Zakynthos - video
Read all my articles about Zakynthos

 

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Zakynthos - Turtles photoset

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A wine tasting at Oenolpi Winery on Zakynthos, Greece - video

You’ll remember how I wrote about tasting the local wines at Oenolpi winery on the Greek Island of Zakynthos or Zante and meeting the winemakers who are using local grape varieties to make fresh, modern style wines.

Now you can see the video I made of them talking about how they came to set up the winery and the different wines we tasted.

 

View the embedded video of the winetasting above here

I really enjoyed meeting Timothy and Christina - what a fun couple. Not to mention admiring the shiny steel wine vats in the warehouse and slurping a few of their extremely drinkable wine, pretending I actually know something about wine!

I think I come from the ‘I know what I like when I taste it’ school of wine coinesseurs.  Mmmm, is that the aroma of leather, the fresh citrus flavour, the berry fruit, the underlying flavour of years of Greek wine made to be enjoyed every day with the meltingly roast lamb, herby stuffed tomatoes, the ripe melon - Oh yes I was drooling with the best of them!

If you’re visiting Zakynthos, do pay them a visit, and even if you can’t get out to the winery then pop into their shop in Zante town and buy a bottle or two to drink as the sun sets over the harbour.

This video was posted as part of Wanderfood Wednesday - wander over to Wanderlust and Lipstick for high tea and other foodie posts

Resources

Timotheos G Christoforos and Christina-Maria Leftaki
Oenolpi Winery, Macherado and Zante town
Tel +30 2695094030
Mob +30 6977126414, + 30 6979728015
E-mail oenolpi@hotmail.com
Website http://www.oenolpi.gr/

Other articles about Greek food and wine on Zakynthos

Enjoy a Greek wine-tasting at Oenolpi winery on Zakynthos
How to make delicious Greek stuffed tomatoes
How to find a real Greek Taverna on Zakynthos

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Zakynthos photoset

Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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