Passacaglia and Fugue

After some debate and negotiation, we decided on Seville for a summer holiday location this year. The late positioning of the Max Richter Prom was awkward for scheduling, but frankly going to southern Europe earlier in the summer would have been madness.

Thurs 7th: After breakfast, we head off to Gatwick. Fortunately I did print my boarding pass as I struggle to get the self-service bag drop to accept my phone; later I find the auto-rotate setting which I think may have been causing the PDF to flip as I turned the phone upside-down. Everything else accepts the phone version, although my phone also needs to have the magic wand waved over it at security. The flight and arrival seem fairly straightforward, but it is early evening and so there isn't much to do other than adjust to the habit of eating late.

Fri 8th: We begin with the Alcazar at Seville. It is the first of a handful of destinations where the requirement to book specific time-slots is apparent, but we are only postponed by about an hour, so there is time for a bit of wandering around. The venue is impressive and the tiling is ubiquitous. Later in the afternoon we reach the monumental Plaza de España, built for one of the trade fairs that has been hosted in the city over the years. (This one was held months before the Wall Street crash of 1929). I notice that there is frequently an aroma of brackish water around the city.

Inside the Seville Alcázar

Pomegranate tile at the Plaza de España

Sat 9th: We visit a few palaces, including that of the Countess of Lebrija. The ground floor is mostly covered with Roman mosaics lifted from nearby archaeological sites in the nineteenth century. I shall think of her as the mosaic-stealing Countess of Lebrija from now on. We have pre-booked for the Cathedral and the timing works quite well. In the afternoon we cross the river to the Triana district, where the old ceramic factory is disappointingly closed but the contemporary art museum is actually quite good. The site of the 1992 Expo is another graveyard to industrial development, with occasional business parks and lots of fenced-off wilderness, hampering our return to the city centre in the heat. We are finding that Seville is a bit bigger than it looked on the map, but the central district is mostly no-go for public transport, so there's nothing for it but a lot of walking.

The Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija

Sun 10th: We catch a bus to Italica, north-west of the city. Apparently this was one of the largest cities in the Roman world. The site is quite large and what is visible is well-presented, but it seems there has been a lot of earlier removal (see above) or areas that remain unexcavated, or under the present-day settlement of Santiponce. In the afternoon we are back in Seville and see some of the city walls and other bits and pieces, but it is really too hot to do very much. We try a craft beer place quite close to our hotel, and rather like it.

Mosaic of the Planets, Italica

Mon 11th: An early start to catch the train to Granada. We have pre-booked for the Alhambra, but our timing is askew; access to the overall site is for the day, but we miss our slot for the Nasrid palaces. It's quite a hike from the train station, by whichever route; and the signage inside the complex is intermittent. So there's a bit of a downer, but the rest of the site is pleasant, and we also get to see a few other places in Granada later in the day. We find that sangria is available in cans at the station cafe. The aircon doesn't seem to be working on the return train, I have insect bites and a heat rash, and the taxi driver won't take card payments, so it hasn't been the best of days.

The Alhambra

Garden in the Generalife

Tues 12th: After a long day yesterday, we take it easy. The Museo de Bellas Artes is free to EU citizens, but we have to pay €3 as a Brexit benefit. The Archivo de Indias is an impressive building, but it is only a building; if you want to see artifacts, the Museum of the Americas in Madrid is the place to go.

Archivo de Indias

Wed 13th: The train to Cordoba is a shorter trip and leaves at a more civilised hour. We have timed our visit to the Mosque-Cathedral quite well, despite a nervous several minutes while Renfe delay the train shortly after departure. It's an interesting space and shows the heritage of being under various "management" over the years. Is it coincidence that the Christian sections are much lighter, with the dark wooden roof beams removed? I suspect not. After lunch we visit the Alcázar, and the Roman bridge. Again it is bakingly hot, but the return train is also at a civilised hour and has working aircon this time.

Mosque or Cathedral? - or maybe both

Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

Thurs 14th: Although the train bookings were a little awkward, we've managed to get tickets to Cadíz, and it turns out to be a very welcome trip. The sea air is fresh and the heat feels more manageable. We get to see a few sights, decide to give up on the eating late thing and have paella and sangria in the late afternoon, leaving plenty of time to catch the return train.

Cadíz shoreline

Parque Genovés

Fri 15th: The last day of the holiday is a bit fragmented, but we find a few things that didn't have listings in the Rough Guide, such as the Palacio de las Dueñas. The main archaeological museum has a long-term closure, but we find some impressive excavations at the Antiquarium under the Setas de Sevilla.

House of Bacchus, Antiquarium

Getting to the airport in good time, check-in is straightforward, but it transpires our flight is going to be delayed. Information is minimal, and Seville Airport is quite small; in fact it's the only time I have seen multiple flights listed with the same gate number, as there are few gates in the non-Schengen area. So there's a bit of a pile-up of passengers and little information. It turns out that there are more air traffic control problems at Gatwick, and it's nearly midnight before we have even taken off. Of course, this means the baggage handlers at Gatwick have mostly gone home and it does seem to take a while for our luggage to return. To cap it all, there's an overnight closure on the M25 and the diversion is poorly signposted (and Google Maps offers a contradictory route). It is 4am by the time we get home, rather more mañana than we had intended. It was a mostly successful holiday, but I think we did leave things a bit to chance; it turns out that Spanish culture is sometimes more regimented than one might expect.

In an attempt to return to normality, we looked at a summer holiday this year. As usual, there were arguments about the Proms (partially voided by later events, obviously) and the likely weather. As usual, a compromise was reached.

Tues 30th: The advice from Heathrow is still to arrive 3 hours before your flight, so we have brought the parking booking forward by half an hour to even more ridiculous o'clock. On the bus from the car park, I discover my EHIC has expired (I confused the digits and thought it was valid until 2023). In the event, Terminal 2 is not particularly busy at 6am and we drift through security uneventfully, although more devices have been installed and I have to stand in odd postures to satisfy whatever scanning technology is now employed. Our flight is via Zurich, where - for the first time ever - my passport is stamped. We make the connection without incident, as both legs of the journey seem to have been delayed by a similar amount. We arrive at Naples and catch the bus into the city centre, then the Circumvesuviana train out to Ercolano, our base for the duration. Later in the afternoon, a trip to Oplontis proves fruitless, as it is currently closed on Tuesdays. It is far too hot.

Wed 31st: We decide to begin at the top of the bucket list, with a trip to Pompeii (which, in Italian, apparently has only a single i). It is impressive. There is nothing like it in scale in Britain, and even Rome does not feel that it compares, as ancient remains are interspersed with contemporary structures, so this really is a unique experience. We are uncertain about the single on-site cafe, but fortunately it proves to cater decent snack food at decent prices. The number of tour parties climbs during the day, probably exceeding the original population of the city, but in fact it's easy to find quiet spots by veering only slightly away from the main roads. As the day progresses, perhaps fatigue sets in - one house after another, all blurring into one - although the written guide suggests there are four distinct phases of construction. Randomly, late in the afternoon, we stumble upon a structure marked DOMVS L. CAECILI IVCVNDVI - the Caecilius of the Cambridge Latin Course and Doctor Who fame. As visitor attractions are open late into the evening and it is on our way home, we re-try Oplontis and check out the Villa Poppea, successfully this time.

Pompeii - Theatre

Pompeii - Home of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus

Pompeii - House of the Boar

Pompeii - Forum and Vesuvius

Oplontis - Peacock at the Villa Poppea

Thurs 1st: I observe I am getting bitten by mosquitoes, as before in Italy (particularly Florence). Rain is forecast, so we take the opportunity to visit the Archaeological museum in Naples. As well as Roman remains, there is an extensive Egyptian section in the basement, which proves to be more informatively labelled than is often the case, or perhaps I am just in the mood to pay more attention. By mid-afternoon we make our way to the Catacombe di San Gaudioso. This is the only tourist attraction where we are told to wear FFP2 masks (though we have been doing so anyway when indoors; we have heard enough stories of people catching covid while on holiday). It's a more gruesome tour than the Catacombs in Rome, being largely medieval.

Fri 2nd: The site at Herculaneum is a stone's throw from our hotel. The excavated site is much smaller than at Pompeii (as is believed to be the settlement as a whole), but it seems better preserved, with many buildings of two stories, although they are perhaps less ornate. The on-site museum contains some interesting artefacts, including a fragment of carbonised rope; more carbonised wood seems visible in some of the buildings. In the afternoon we head in to Naples, visiting various places including Pio Monte della Misericordia and the striking Maiolica church at Santa Chiara. We encounter a band of musicians playing what I instantly recognise as pizzica from a late-night Prom in 2019, though consulting the Internet it turns out that in Campania the style is known as tammurriata - all variants of tarantella.

Herculaneum - House of Neptune

Herculaneum - Thermopolium

Sat 3rd: It's time to visit the Royal Palace in Naples, which is a relatively modest affair; afterward, we catch the noon tour of the underground Galleria Borbonica, featuring tunnels intended to safeguard the monarchy in the event of insurrection, but later used as shelter in World War 2, and later again as storage for vehicles impounded by police, and fly-tipping by low-level organised crime groups. In the afternoon we take the funicular to the monastery of San Martino and the neighbouring castle of Sant Elmo.

Certosa di San Martino - Camera Obscura Sundial

Sun 4th: Another rainy day, at least initially, so we take the metro and the bus to the art gallery at Capodimonte. To be honest, this is a bit of a disappointment: the floors that are open are mostly consumed by one after another Madonna con Bambino, and the 18th/19th century floor is closed. As the weather has cleared, in the afternoon we take a trip out to Pozzuoli, which has a remarkable amphitheatre. Sadly there is no access to the ground level, but the underground, where gladiators, prisoners and animals were stored and prepared, is very well preserved. Due to the rain earlier in the day, the Temple of Serapis appears like an island in a lake. Despite applying insect repellent, the bites are now looking quite dramatic, and I feel the need to check symptoms of malaria and sepsis, just in case, but I am reassuringly free of them.

Pozzuoli - Amphitheatre

Mon 5th: It is well known that any English word can, if necessary, be turned into Italian by adding the suffix -o or -io, and it feels like we are playing Crescento di Morningtonio as the Circumvesuviana train takes an unexpected turn off before Naples. We decide to get out at an interchange station, only to discover that the interchange is closed. We walk in the wrong direction to the next stop, where it turns out the contactless card access is not working. Eventually we do get in to Naples, but the Trenitalia ticket machines are refusing to take card payments. We abandon them and take the old-fashioned option of going into the ticket office, where after a wait we accomplish our objective of getting tickets to Caserta. Earlier research revealed that there is a dearth of mid-morning trains, but once we have our tickets things proceed largely according to plan, so it's lunch by the time we arrive. The Bourbon out-of-town palace is on a much grander scale than their city-centre pad, and it's frequently plain that it could be an inspiration for 20th-century fascist architecture. The grounds are enormous, and we follow the rill - though it's really too big for such a name - through various levels. At the top there's an "English" garden - it's not exactly clear why it has this name, beyond the presence of one or two follies in the style of fake ruins, as though there weren't enough of the real thing in this area.

Caserta

Tues 6th: We are a bit smarter with the transport and go directly to the ticket office for a more complicated journey to Paestum. This turns out to be impressive again - three massive Greek temples in a settlement that pre-dates the Roman period. Amusingly, it turns out that the Temple of Hera is purely hypothetical - there is no real evidence for the choice of deity. The site is relatively quiet but the heat is intense.

Paestum

Wed 7th: Our final day begins somewhat frustratingly, as many places in Naples turn out to be closed or to require pre-booking. By lunch time we are heading to the airport, where our flight stubbornly declines to have a check-in desk (we have been unable to check-in online, but the booking did say "airport check-in" so this is not surprising). Eventually things start moving, but it has made our connection in Amsterdam, rather tight. The captain announces that the landing gear of the plane struck a bird on arrival, and that the delay is due to safety checks: fair enough. We make our connection in Schiphol, but on arrival in Heathrow, it transpires that our luggage didn't. We complete the requisite forms and hope for the best. A previous experience in 2017, as well as third-party anecdotal evidence from many years ago, makes me hopeful, but this is 2022 and Schiphol is experiencing problems just as much as Heathrow, it seems.

To be honest, food and drink were unremarkable, though we discovered birra rossa. Public transport was good, provided you researched it in advance - some lines (but not all) take contactless payments like TfL; the last train back from Naples to Ercolano was at 21:30 so we had to be aware when eating in Naples in the evening.

Thurs 8th - Fri 9th: Online tracking of our luggage is painfully slow, although it indicates it has been identified and forwarded to the UK.

Sat 10th: At last, our luggage arrives, in a changed world.

Fri 7th: I have spent the past day and a half off work with a cold, and although it is clearing, I still feel a bit under the weather. It's an early start and I am surprised by roadworks on the M4, which impose a 50mph speed limit for almost all of the journey to Heathrow. Fortunately we've allowed plenty of time. The self-service bag drop is an innovation and proves counterintuitive, as no peeling is required before fixing the baggage labels. As with all self-service options these days, staff are on hand to assist, perhaps a little patronisingly. The flight is smooth and the transfer to the hotel works as expected, with the small hiccup that the ticket machines for the Arlanda Express are reluctant to accept some cards. Once settled, we take advantage of the good weather to go for a walk around the old town, Gamla Stan.

Sat 8th: The forecast suggests a few good days, but less good by midweek, so we go to Drottningholm Palace. As well as the palace itself, we see the Chinese pavilion, the entertaining Guards' "tent", and the Palace Theatre.

Sun 9th: We visit the Royal Palace; after lunch we catch the popular Changing of the Guard ceremony. They do like military bands in Sweden. In the afternoon we wander around Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen, before taking in the Modernamuseet and ArkDes.

Mon 10th: Another good day, and, especially as many museums are closed, we head to the open-air Skansen park. In some ways it reminds me of Beamish open-air museum, and there is some common intent, but Skansen is older, more varied (taking in architectural examples from all over the country, including from Finnish and Sami communities), and incorporates an extensive Nordic animals section. I have mixed feelings about zoos, but this seems to work quite well as an educational as well as an entertaining experience. We see owls, bears, boar, moose, seals, reindeer and wolves, as well as domesticated animals.

Tues 11th: The weather is more cloudy, and we take a day trip to Uppsala, where we see the Linnaeus museum and the Gustavianum museum, with its impressive Augsburg cabinet and anatomical theatre.

Wed 12th: We're looking to get round the indoor options, so it's the Historiska museet in the morning, which proves quite interesting (especially the prehistory sections), and the Nationalmuseum (which is an art gallery) in the afternoon. Although there's the obligatory Canalettos, it contains mostly lesser-known artists. A couple of interesting Akseli Gallen-Kallela pieces appear in the later rooms.

Thurs 13th: Weather-wise, this is the worst day by far. We start at the Vasamuseet, which houses the recovered wreck of the seventeenth century Vasa. I was anticipating something more dumbed-down and interactive, but it's much more impressive. In contrast, in the afternoon we visit the Nordiska museet, which isn't bad but is underwhelming in comparison, not really using its space all that well. Finally we explore the Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde museum; there's a temporary exhibition of paintings from Grez-sur-Loing and some intereating contemporary photography, but overall it's quite a small museum.

Fri 14th: The weather is indifferent and we start with a morning tour of the Stadshus, before heading on to Vaxholm, where we see the interesting Hembygdsgårds museum (in a couple of rooms attached to the cafe) before going on to the castle and defensive works. As we exit the castle exhibition, the weather has improved substantially and it's bright sunshine again.

Sat 15th: It's a time-filling last day, so we begin at the Rosendals Trädgård, before moving on to the well-stocked Medelhavsmuseet and finally the Strindberg Museum, before heading off to the airport. The flight departs slightly late yet arrives early, but there's an inordinate wait for the baggage to arrive, and in the end we're quite late back.

Overall, public transport was good and cheap; visitor attractions were priced comparably with London, and food and drink was expensive. We managed some good budget meals (Georgian, Swedish and Mexican); though not among the cheaper options, Pelikan and Magnus Ladulas were particularly good.

After looking through the guidebooks, we decided we couldn't fit all three Baltic states into a single holiday, so we opted for a trip to Rīga and Tallin. The logistics were straightforward but not trivial, and we ended up with flights to/from Gatwick instead of our more usual Heathrow.

Fri 8th: We get up at ridiculous-o'clock. Fortunately the roads are running smoothly and the directions to Purple Parking are clear, and we get there by 7am. Check-in/bag-drop with Air Baltic is straightforward, as we can use the business queue (a quirk of having the temerity to pre-purchase hold baggage). Normally I don't pay much attention to the aircraft itself, but I do notice the Bombardier CS300 seems particularly new and shiny, and the airline magazine informs me it is also significantly more fuel-efficient. However, it does seem unusually warm, unlike most aircraft which seem somewhat over-chilled. The flight is smooth and on-time, and although there are at least two stag parties on board it's an orderly affair. Transfer by bus into central Rīga works as advertised and it's a short walk to the hotel. We take a walk around the town, taking in the Alexander Nevsky orthodox cathedral, the Art Nouveau district, parks, squares, and the old Zeppelin hangars which now form the central markets, which are closed by the time we get there.

Sat 9th: Overnight, the power has blipped at least three times, and each time it comes back on, all lights in the room come on, which is irritating to say the least. But after a decent breakfast we're off to the Art Nouveau museum and the cathedral. In the afternoon we visit the House of the Black Heads - a guildhall whose name derives from St Mauritius, though the house is a complete post-WW2 (and indeed, post-Soviet) reconstruction.

Sun 10th: We take in the Rīga Bourse art museum, and later the Latvian National Museum of Art (which turns out to be free on that day) and the Metzendorff House.

Mon 11th: We have a short morning to fill, so we visit the Synagogue (again, largely reconstructed) and the interior of the central market, before catching our bus to Tallinn. It's a four-hour trip (with a short pause in Pärnu) and the Latvian A1 isn't the best of roads - a single carriageway, though it's so straight it could have been built by the Romans. The transfer between Tallinn International Bus Station and the hotel is the one bit of the trip I hadn't researched properly, and we muddle around without actually paying for the tram ride, because it seems everything is electronic and online. (Fortunately, we don't claim back the outstanding balance on the card we buy for the rest of the holiday, so my conscience is clear). We wander around in the late afternoon and early evening in part of the Old Town. It's obviously picturesque, though I have a sense the tourism element is hammed up and over-done, with medieval-themed restaurants all around the town square.

Tues 12th: It's raining - the one bad weather day in our holiday - so, having sorted out a public transport card (which it seems must be paid for by card, not cash) we head off to the Kadriorg district and the Kumu art museum. By the afternoon the clouds have cleared and it's dry to walk across to the Kadriorg palace. We also see Peter the Great's house and the Russalka memorial.

Wed 13th: We find we are waking up very early, due to the long hours of daylight, and the absence of any climate control in the hotel room, so before museums open we check out the ferry terminal, which is a 10-minute walk from the hotel, before booking ferry tickets for a trip to Helsinki later in the week. Back in the Old Town we take in the Kiek in de Kök Museum and Bastion Tunnels. An afternoon walk around the west side of the Old Town walls seems much quieter than the centre.

Thurs 14th: Out to the Kalamaja district and the Seaplane Museum. The Suur Tõll icebreaker is particularly interesting. Like all museums of this type, it is plagued by small people, but for the most part we avoid them.

Fri 15th: Another early start. We looked at the times and decided the 07:00 ferry to Helsinki was the one to catch. Check-in and boarding is straightforward, and we've booked breakfast on board. We get a good view of the archipelago and Suomenlinna fort as we approach Helsinki. Once we've disembarked it's about half an hour walk into the city centre, where we visit the cathedral, the impressive University Library, the Railway Station, and other attractions.

Most of the afternoon is taken up in the Ateneum and National Museum. The return ferry departs at 20:30 and we've booked the all-you-can-eat buffet, which turns out also to be all-you-can-drink, but the wine isn't so good that you want more than a couple of glasses anyway.

Sat 16th: It turns out we misread the opening times of the architecture museum, so our morning is filled by the Estonian History Museum at the Great Guild Hall instead. This proves to be more interesting and less interactive than the guide book had suggested.

We're very early at Tallinn airport, but it was always going to be a difficult day to fill; it gives us time to stock up on essentials such as canned bear meat, elk salami, and lingonberry jam. The return flight is smooth and we're home at a reasonable hour.