David Jenkins' weblog

Life’s too short to drink instant coffee

Category: restaurants

  • So that was 2025!

    So that was 2025!

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    At least it ended on a positive note with a fine but very cold day, my blood pressure at 122/65 and my heart rate at 53. I weighed in this morning at 65.4 kg. Last year the numbers were 120/62 and 54 and 65.5 kg meaning no significant change over the year. I continue to…

  • Historic Spain

    Historic Spain

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    We’ve just got back from a week in ‘historic Spain’ starting in Madrid and then spending time in el Escorial, Segovia, Avila, Salamanca and Toledo. It was a full on experience and I reckon it could usefully have been split into two: a long weekend in Madrid and then a week in the other cities.…

  • Coffee shops, cafes and restaurants

    Coffee shops, cafes and restaurants

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    On the last night of our short break in Florence last year we had dinner in the hotel restaurant because it was a Sunday and options outside were limited. Fortunately it was a very good hotel with a ‘proper’ restaurant and we were expertly looked after by Markus. I grumbled when Markus came to take…

  • Not a bad start to the week

    Not a bad start to the week

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    There was a time when I regarded getting up at 0700 as being pretty normal but in recent years, basically post Covid, post stent and post (semi) retirement, that’s not been the case. However I’d agreed to an 0815 appointment at Addenbrooke’s on the grounds that it would be an easier drive in than the…

  • The Medicis and more

    The Medicis and more

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    We’ve just enjoyed a long weekend in Florence. It’s the fourth time I’ve been there but it’s the first time I’ve spent significant time in the city and although last time we did see Michelangelo’s David and visit the Basilica of Santa Croce which is home to the tombs of most of Florence’s great and…

  • Peaks, ports and palazzi: 5 highlights

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    We’ve just come back from a little over a week in north west Italy: Turin and Piemonte, and Genova and its coastline to the east. We didn’t have universally good weather but we didn’t have our programme materially affected and thankfully were spared the heavy rains in Emilio Romanga on 16/17 May 23.

  • It’s been a busy year on TripAdvisor

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    I don’t really know why I bother but I’m pretty diligent in reporting restaurants I’ve visited and hotels I’ve stayed at on TripAdvisor. In 2022 I rated 9 hotels and 36 restaurants. For some reason I did not rate our replacement hotel, The Gran Hotel le Pace in Sant’Angelo, which wasn’t really that bad but…

  • Breakfast at Bill’s @billscambridge

    Breakfast at Bill’s @billscambridge

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    It doesn’t really have the same cachet as Breakfast at Tiffany’s but I like the alliteration. Until the first Covid lockdown we went to Cambridge just about every Saturday morning and we’d generally have breakfast at Don Pasquale with Tony and Christine. Sadly times have changed. We’ve only been in twice since, Don Pasquale has…

  • 5 German cities

    5 German cities

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    They’re not the most interesting German cities and this is certainly not any sort of in depth profile of them but it’s the five cities which give me good memories. It helps that I spent 13 years working in the chemicals industry in Europe and of course three of the biggest chemical companies were German…

  • Indonesia 2019 (and 2020)

    Indonesia 2019 (and 2020)

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    We’ve just spent a couple of days short of four weeks on holiday in Indonesia. It’s a longer trip than we’d normally make and with hindsight would have been better if it had been a few days shorter but you can’t change history so why dwell on it.