Here at Leger we are pleased to announce the launch of our new Grand Explorer website.
The site houses our great range of Grand Explorer Tours, which cover a vast array of countries and take in some simply breathtaking scenery,
These tours are carefully planned right down to the very last details; we can even pick you up from your home with our door-to-door service, so there is absolutely nothing for you to worry about.
With destinations including places such as Russia, India, China, Norway and even the Arctic Circle these tours really are not to be missed.
For more information on our tours visit our new Grand Explorer website
Sometimes what can seem like a rather enjoyable pastime can seem to some of my mates to be rather, well, rather odd.
Talking to them about my pastime makes me feel like I have a secret vice. And really it is nothing of the sort. Just a harmless bit of fun, as far as I am concerned. Something that until last week I was quite happy to admit gave me happiness, delight, fun, joy, bliss, contentment.
In fact, I thought this little pleasure of mine was quite run-of-the-mill. To think that it is a secret vice! When in reality we aren’t like that at all. Well, not much.
Anyway, to explain:
Last Thursday, I was partaking of our regular weekly bar meal at the Old Cow when my partner, let slip the truth.
To give you the full picture, there’s six of us that do the meal once a week, just before the quiz night starts. (We are The Avengers largely because of my surname and the fact that my partner’s name is Emma – if that means nothing don’t worry, it’s not important).
So, anyway, I have cottage pie, peas and chips, and a pud, and then on we go to the questions.
It was during the pudding (mine’s a cheesecake) that the problem began. We were talking holidays, and Emma started to tell the gang about our recent coach trip to Paris.
And there was silence. I could see at once that our friends were stunned. Shocked one might say.
Eventually Sandra from across the road said, ‘With other people?’ And then for clarity added,’On a coach?’
Emma said yes, it was indeed a coach, and indeed there were others besides ourselves on the coach. There was more silence, until Sandra continued, ‘And was it – all right?’
So we confirmed that our fellow-travellers were indeed all right, and that the coach was really smooth, and with more leg room than your average plane. As I explained, we’d actually stayed in touch with one couple we’d got to know, and were following up on their recommendation for a trip to Austria.
‘By coach’ asked Sandra, her incredulity now reaching such proportions that she had actually put down her wine glass before it was empty. ‘With other people’
We agreed that this by and large summed up the situation. ‘And were they, all right?’
They were, we said once again, all right. We’d got chatting to them in a café by the Seine, after we’d had a trek round the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa.
‘Never had you down as a fan of fine art’ said Derek, Sandra’s man about the house.
‘Well’ I said, ‘you can’t be right outside and not go in and see the Mona Lisa can you? I just followed the guide to the painting, had a peek at the old girl and walked out again, picking up a leaflet just so I had some background – in case anyone asked’. ‘And did anyone ask?’ Sandra enquired.
I admitted no one had. ‘Anyway, after that we went to Disneyland Paris just for a bit of contrast.’
Just then the landlord rang an old ship’s bell that he has on the bar, which summoned us to the quiz. The Avengers rose as one (we’re good at that), and took our place at our regular quiz table. ‘Besides’ I said as we took our seats, ‘I rather like this sight-seeing lark. Being a tourist is good – it means you can talk to people and see the sights plus sit around doing nothing much when you feel like it.’ And then to make the point, just in case they hadn’t got it, I added, ‘Being a tourist is fun.’
‘Talk to people’ said Sandra, following her regular habit of taking one little phrase out of a sentence and repeating it as a question. Noticing at last that her glass was half empty, she quickly remedied the fact by making it completely empty.
‘People’ I confirmed. ‘Fellow travellers. Others who like to go and see places and do things.’
‘So where are you going next?’ asked Doug, watching Sandra with some alarm as she refuelled, and topped up, all seemingly in one movement.
‘After Austria, we’re thinking of Bruges and the Flemish speaking part of Belgium’
‘Isn’t that where Poirot comes from’ said Sandra, uncertainly.
‘No’ I told her, ‘he was French speaking.’
‘But what’ persisted Sandra, refusing to be put off the scent, ‘if you don’t like all these other people?’
‘Liking them isn’t obligatory,’ said Suzanne. ‘Some people like to stick together as a couple, some like to make new friends. Up to you.’
‘Oooh that sounds fun’ said Sandra.
‘And the beer’s cheap’ I told her.
‘Yes’ she said, ‘there is that.’
The question master for the evening called us to order. ‘Question 1’ he announced. We readied ourselves as a hush fell on the room. ‘What year was the Mona Lisa painted? And I will accept five years either way from the normally given dates.’
All eyes on my table turned to me. ‘Somewhere between 1503 and 1506 – according to the gallery’ I said writing 1504 on the card.
One nil to me I think.
Peter Peel There are details of Peter’s coach trip to France on our website and details of his next trip to Belgium are here. Peter’s next post is due later this month
Image courtesy of flickr user Peggy2012CREATIVELENZ
Bring a taste of Spain to your home with this simple paella recipe that combines chicken, prawns and chorizo into a mouthwatering dish that is perfect for parties!
This dish takes about an hour to create and should serve about eight.
What you’ll need
A simple chicken, prawn and chorizo paella recipe – the perfect party dish!
1 thinly sliced chorizo sausage
3 chicken breast fillets, chopped into bite size chunks
1 pack of large, pre-cooked, tiger prawns
2 large, diced onions
400g arborio paella rice
Paprika
White wine
Olive Oil
1.25 litres of chicken or vegetable stock
How to cook it
Add a glug of olive oil to a large, heavy bottomed frying pan and heat on a medium to high setting. Add your thinly sliced chorizo to the pan and allow to cook on both sides until golden and starting to go black. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chorizo whilst leaving the oil and chorizo juice in the pan.
Add the diced chicken to the pan and cook until lightly golden, the meat doesn’t have to be cooked thoroughly at this stage. Remove the chicken and keep until later.
Add your diced onions to the pan and cook until brown and soft.
Now add your rice, two teaspoons of paprika and about 200ml of white wine.
Bring to the boil and allow the mixture to cook for around 2 minutes.
Now add your chicken and chorizo to the mixture and stir in your stock.
Reduce to a low heat and allow the paella to cook for 20 minutes without stirring.
Finally, add your prawns to the dish and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes or until the remaining mixture has been fully absorbed.
Freshen things up a bit
If you would like to freshen this dish up a little, let your paella cool, add some freshly chopped tomatoes, peppers and cucumber and serve on a bed of lettuce.
Image courtesy of flickr user S. Navarro
Find out what makes our list of fun facts about Italy below:
Romans love cats, so much so that a new law condemns any person killing a cat to a 10,000 Euro fine & up to 3 years in jail!
The city of Pompeii was completely buried after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.
Did you know that Rome is further north than New York?
The Sardinian islands are famous for their “witches†who make health potions for local people. The “witches†are usually women and they use a secret language that they pass on to their daughters.
Naples gave birth to the pizza around 1860.
The average Italian consumes 26 gallons of wine and 25 kilograms of pasta a year.
Italy has more hotel rooms than any other country in Europe.
Italyis home to more UNESCO world heritage sites than any other country in the world.
The national animal of Italy is the Italian Wolf.
Venice has over 400 footbridges.
In 2007 an Italian dog found a truffle weighing 3.3 pounds which was later sold for a world record $333,000.
At its height in A.D. 117, the Roman Empire stretched from Portugal in the West to Syria in the east, and from Britain in the North to the North African deserts across the Mediterranean. It covered 2.3 million miles and had a population of 120 million people.
Do you have any fun facts about Italy? If so, let us know in the comments below.
Stephen Egginton travelled the world whilst working in catering and hospitality for the Navy. But, having moved back home to South Yorkshire, and during a general clear out of clutter, he was astonished to find a blast from the past. Hidden buried in a box was a documented file of his very first trip to foreign shores – a tour with Leger Holidays to the Austrian Tyrol 29 years ago when he was just 13 years old.
Stephen’s family today
The paperwork he found incorporated a day-by-day diary of the holiday, from initial pick up at Woodall Spa Services by Benny the coach driver, through to the overnight stay in Belgium and on to Austria, and also included booking details, leaflets and even luggage labels!
Stephen, who lives with his wife and son, tells us more…
How did you rediscover the diaries?
I was having a root out in our cupboard under the stairs and there were boxes which had been there since we’d moved house years ago. I decided to rummage through a few – and was shocked to find the diary, which I’d forgotten all about!
Is it the first holiday you really remember?
It was the first holiday where I’d been abroad and so I was really excited. I went with my parents and younger brother and I was 13 years old. I think the anticipation had really built up which is why I decided to write some of the diary before we even went – researching the local area and currency/climate etc. It almost looks like it was written for a school project, but it wasn’t! I recall spending hours researching it and writing daily entries.
Austrian Holiday 1982
What bit of the holiday stands out the most for you?
The trip to Innsbruck really stands out for me – it’s obviously a big place for winter sports and the winter Olympics were held there. We used to watch Ski Sunday on the TV at home, and so it was quite a big deal to be visiting there.
Also, I remember meeting people on the tour – most memorably two girls of a similar age to me and my brother! But it was generally a very sociable trip and I remember everyone saying they would keep in touch afterwards. It was very like Channel 4’s Coach Trip TV series! I enjoyed it so much I went on another of Leger’s trips to Austria with a friend a few
years later.
What inspired you to keep the diary? Did you usually write a diary?
I think I was just so excited for my first trip abroad it seemed a good way to vent all that energy! In those days, Wales was the furthest I’d ever been and that seemed like a million miles away. I did, however, like keeping diaries generally. In the same box as the holiday diary I found a pocket diary from 1982, where I’d made brief notes on each day and given it a mark out of 10!
This is what our original travel documents looked like
What bit of the diary stood out or made you laugh the most when you re-read it?
There was a bit about my parents coming back from an evening out singing songs from The Sound of Music which made me laugh. They’d obviously had a great time! Also I remembered how I’d tried to meet up with an existing Austrian pen pal I had – the poor guy had to travel all the way from Vienna to Salzburg to meet us and, from the diary, I realised I waited just 10 minutes and then when he wasn’t there I just left! I can’t believe I didn’t wait any longer. Surprisingly, I never heard from him again…
Have you been on any coaching holidays since then? Would you go on one again?
I haven’t been on one since – my career has mainly taken me on my travels – but I would definitely consider it. Everything is taken care of and it’s very sociable. Plus you get to see the real highlights of the destinations – including some which might be a bit off the beaten track.
Do you remember what the coach was like?
I think it seemed very luxurious in its day. I’m sure it’s nothing compared to the coaches used now though! For a young lad it was a very long trip so we seemed to spend a lot of time on the coach – but that was part of the adventure.
Why do you think coach holidays are appealing?
I think the fact that you get to see so many places – including those you’re just travelling through to get to your destination. Plus it’s all organised for you, and it’s such a friendly way to travel.
And these are the more modern documents used if you travelled now
What kind of person do you think is best suited to coach holidays?
I think the stereotypical view would be those of an older generation, but I think in reality they can appeal to everyone. I have a son of my own now who is 12 years old – about the same age as when I wrote the diary – so I’d love to take him and see how he finds the experience.
Given you’ve travelled extensively, of all the places you have visited throughout Europe, do you have a favourite?
I have been lucky enough to travel the world – to 57 countries – but all of them were ports obviously, as I was in the Navy! I’ve been to places as diverse as the Middle East, Seychelles, Norway and Russia. In terms of favourites, I love St. Petersburg – there’s so much to see. Also Tallin in Estonia. I love culture and plenty of things to do – those combined with a bit of good weather and I’m a happy man!
Are there any European destinations you haven’t been to which you would love to visit?
I have to admit, with my job and my love of travel I’m lucky enough to have seen most of it! However, I’ve never been to Switzerland and there are some parts of Italy I’d still love to do, like the Amalfi Coast and Naples. Maybe one day I’ll go back to Austria again too!
Do you have any travel memories from years ago? If so we’d love to hear them, just add a comment below and tell us all about it!
