Podworld - Exploring interesting places

It has been some years since I was last in Barcelona in fact my previous visit was prior to the 1992 Olympic Games. I remember it though. I had taken a long weekend on the nearby Costa Brava at a rather sorry resort called Malgrat le Mar. It was possible to take a train to Barcelona and the journey took about an hour. My travelling companion and I did not spend long in the city. We wandered up La Rambla, took in the Columbus state, had something to eat and headed back. Barcelona's time had come gain so this time it was not to be a flying visit but a more leisurely four day holiday. We booked accommodation close to the music museum right in the centre of the town. A perfect place from which to explore the city. The hotel was fine, rather quirky but with no iar conditioning in the rooms. This was August. First up for us as football (soccer) fans was a visit to the Camp Nou, the cavernous home of CF Barcelona. It cost as much to get in for the stadium visit as I would expect to p...

It is described by the writer and broadcaster Michael Parkinson in his book Bats in the Pavilion as the finest cricket beach in Yorkshire. He is right and the beach in question in Filey in Yorkshire. Flat, firm with cliffs on one side and the sea the other forming a natural boundary it is simply a wonderful place to play this absorbing game. Five children and four adults would probably agree as aged between seven and 50, the family took it in turns to bat and ball with the seven-year-old adopting the position as captain.   I was probably not much older than my seven-year-old nephew when I made my cricket début on Filey beach. It struck me that a generation on, when the chattering classes think all children sit exclusively behind video consoles, here was a family doing what families had done for years.  I was taken by how enjoyable girls and boys were taken with this game. This is how children should be introduced to cricket. The basics of the game can be explained ...

This was a second attempt to enjoy Madrid after an earlier visit was over shadowed by ordinary weather. So here we were a in March where by the afternoon the temperatures could rise to 20c and Madrid could be enjoyed in all of its glory. The primary purpose of this visit was football and more particularly the city's foremost club Real Madrid. The club has an enduring rivalry with Barcelona and city foes Athletico. Today though it is Sociedad from the Basque city of San Sebastian who provide the opposition. The match and experience lives up to expectation and Real Madrid win 5-1. Day two by comparison shows a darker and altogether more frequent side to this lovely city. We are robbed. It was a classic pick pocket trick of crowded Metro train, a distraction with a "tourist" loudly pretending to be lost and the light fingers getting to work. So at La Latina station en-route to El Rastro we were a wallet down containing credit cards, driving licence but joyfully the p...

Bridlington  has been delighted that David Hockney has made East Yorkshire his home since his return full-time from the United States. This son of Bradford first visited the resort as a child and his mother lived there for years. Now, Britain's greatest living artist is exhibiting a major body of work which he has observed in the East Yorkshire villages around Bridlington and Hull, namely the Yorkshire Wolds. This often missed part of the world remains peaceful, unspoilt and for now untroubled by large hoards of tourists. They have mainly gone in search of please at the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, and with good reason. They are beautiful. Happily we have been left the Wolds to ourselves but for how much longer. Could it be that Driffield becomes the new Hawes or Sewerby the new Ingleton? The art itself looks stunning based on the reviews seen on television and the national newspapers. One of his outstanding works is Bigger Trees and the source material for that can be...

At first glance this may look like a vintage railway carriage but it is a recently preserved area of the Casino in Murcia. Although it is called a casino it is not a gambling den of inequity at all. It was built originally as a gentleman's club in 1847 where merchants and traders would do business it its plush and elegant surroundings. After a complete refurbishment lasting many years the casino is open to visitors once again. Check for opening times and special events http://www.casinomurcia.com/ (there is an English translation). The casino hosts dinners, wine tasting and even classic movies. It is listed in the top three places to visit in Murcia by Lonely Planet.

Red Bus , a photo by Simonhul on Flickr. Here it is in all its magnificence, the London Routemaster bus. There are just a handful left running and this one was captured early in 2012 running between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square near the Criterion hotel and theatre. I don't normally manipulate images but I played with this one to highlight the bus. I am quite happy with the result. The Routemaster design dates back to the 1950s and is an engineering marvel. Buses of today are unlikely to capture our imaginations in 60 years time.

A classic London view and still available, just, in New Year... on Twitpic Take a look at this classic London view on twitter which looks as though it was taken 20 years ago but was in fact taken in the closing days of 2011.