Eindhoven, North Brabant and a Tiny Bit of Belgium

Having arrived at Eindhoven airport on a Ryanair flight from Stansted, getting into the city itself was pretty simple, with two bus routes (the 400 and 401) connecting the airport and main railway station in about 25 minutes. I bought my ticket in advance online, but you can also buy them on the bus, with a return costing me around £8.30. The journey into the city was stress free, although I should have probably jumped off at the penultimate stop (Eindhoven Piazza) as its closer to the actual city centre and you also don’t have to work your way back across from the other side of the railway lines.

Bilbao – Capital of the Basque Country – Part 2

This is the second post covering my time exploring the Basque city of Bilbao and starts midway through my second day in the Spanish city. If you’ve not yet read part 1, you can find that here, and I’d certainly recommend reading it first. An initial wander round the new town, a walking tour of the old town and some excellent food were all under my belt and so it was into the new town for the next bit of exploring.

Bilbao – Capital of the Basque Country – Part 1

The largest city in the Basque Country and the tenth largest city in Spain, Bilbao is set 10 miles inland from the Bay of Biscay on the Nervión river. Founded in the 13th century, Bilbao has plenty of history, mixed with a modern revival over the past few years and so I was looking forward to seeing what it had to offer. Having arrived in Bilbao on what had turned out to be quite enjoyable flight with Vueling from Gatwick I was ready to head into the city to start exploring.

A Winter Visit to Yorkshire – Part 2

After a wintery couple of days to start our mini-break in North Yorkshire, day 3 dawned much clearer and warmer, and we were optimistic for a less dramatic attempt at reaching Whitby than the day before. We had decided that rather than risk train cancellations again that we would drive directly to Whitby, which would also allow to stop off at other places on the way back if we wanted.

A Winter Visit to Yorkshire – Part 1

Back in early January, with the Christmas and New Year chaos over and done with, we decided to have a few days away from home somewhere in the UK. North Yorkshire ended up being our destination, with a little cottage on the edge of the North York Moors National Park being our home for a few nights. As it turned out, the start of our mini break coincided with a snowstorm hitting the UK and so on the morning we were driving north, we woke up to a blanket of snow covering large parts of the UK.

Belfast – Northern Ireland’s Capital

Having arrived at Belfast International Airport on an easyJet flight from Luton, it was time to head into Belfast itself to do some exploring. Two express bus routes, the 300 and 300a, provide an every-15 minutes connection to the city, with the journey to Grand Central bus station scheduled to take around an hour. In reality, our rather packed journey into the city took around 45 minutes, although I’d recommend waiting for the second bus at the airport, as the one that arrived at Grand Central shortly after us was pretty much empty.