retiredmartin

You’ll be relieved to know Mrs RM and I welcomed in the new year and Dryanuary with a pint and a National trust tick yesterday, but before we get to 2025 I’ve got more of those contractually obligated “Best of ’24” posts for you.

After all, there’s (marginally) more to life than pubs and beer, there’s San Marino’s tourist shops,

and Plovdiv’s spectacular café culture with its green Cappy apple juice,

and the slightly suspect canal boats of Aveiro, Portugal’s salt town, for a start.

And a whole host of highlights I’d long forgotten before I plotted our travels on Bing Maps just now.

You’ll know the second half of 2024 has been a slog, me living in this ancient but oppressive room with poor WiFi looking after Mum.

while Mrs RM has to alternate between Waterbeach and Tunbridge Wells, when she wants to be in Moldova and Minneapolis. I’d settle for a night in Maidenhead right now, I really would.

The (Ukrainian made) map of the world taunts Mrs RM with its unvisited countries, a European completion so near but so far. Imagine if, back in September 2022, I’d been thwarted on my completion on the Tingwall harbour waiting for a crossing to Taversoe.

We had to cancel three overseas trips at the last minute in 2024; two due to hospital admissions, one (Jordan) due to war.

But between March and June Mrs RM had managed visits to Portugal, Bulgaria, Albania, France, Andorra (solo), Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and San Marino. Let’s celebrate those, Mrs RM.

TOP 5 PLACES 2024

5. Setubal, Portugal

Notable mainly for its fried cuttlefish and fries, Setubal edged even Lisbon and Porto with its gorgeous little lanes packed with ladies underwear and flowers. “Like Mansfield” I wrote, erroneously.

4) Sheffield, UK

A city filled with cranes building student flats suddenly turned its attention to a neglected town centre in 2024, performing a remarkable transformation of Cambridge Street that brought us Europe’s largest purpose built food arcade, and the gorgeous Leah’s Yard.

3) Gjirokaster, Albania

We almost finished eastern Europe with this Albania tour, a country as good as the Tand promised. And incredibly easy to negotiate, once you work out where to catch your bus.

I fell for Tirana, but Gjirokaster is the quaint, cobbled, castled, European city of your dreams.

2) Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria

No-one had told us to go to Bulgaria. Sofia is grim, they said (it wasn’t), the food is terrible (it was the best in Europe), be careful (never felt safer).

Veliko only just edged Plovdiv (top), possibly because of the 30p coffee dispensers, or the astonishing views, or the craft beer. Or just the floral displays of Gurko Street.

And finally, it isn’t just a first win in 20 years that San Marino is celebrating this year;

1) San Marino

That midsummer evening at the top of San Marino was the magical highlight of the year, almost as good as the bar at the foot of the cable car.

A great micronation ticking trip, and also wonderful people in Italy, which I name my country of the year. If that helps UK : Italy relations I will gladly take the credit.