A better day!

Sophie went to the gym this morning, so normal service was resumed. I was hoping for a better day at work, and it was! I was still hectically busy, though, and I dealt with as many emails as I could as well as doing my monthly reports. 

Outside, the weather was gorgeous again, and it's set to stay like this for the next few days. I hope it will last until Friday when Sophie and I are in London to celebrate her birthday.

Before dinner this evening, Keith and I played cards while Sophie prepared a chicken pasta bake that was delicious. After we'd eaten, Keith watched football and Sophie and I headed upstairs with Mooney to watch the penultimate episode of The White Lotus. This has been hugely enjoyable and we can't decide what will happen in the last episode next week!

Not the best of days!

For some reason, I didn't mind heading back to work today, but at the end of my shift I wished I'd stayed in bed!

I knew Sheila wasn't in this morning, but I had no idea that Sara wasn't in either. When it got to 8:30am, I texted Sheila to find out where she was! The answer came an hour later that the two of them were at another centre, but it was Kathy who told me at 9:00am!

We have had a bad day today, with numerous problems, mainly to do with Kathy being unable to log onto her computer. We're going through a time of great change at work, so I suppose it's understandable, but it was frustrating, nevertheless. I tried to do as much work as I could because I have another short week, but I had to help Kathy several times. At one point, she wasn't able to receive calls, so in the end, we took all the connections out of her phone, plugged them back in again, and luckily it worked. By 4pm, I was more than ready to go home and relax! 

I was busy trying to catch up with my blog and didn't realise the time, but Sophie texted me to say her SatNav was telling her it was going to take another forty minutes to get home from the new roundabout on the A43... in the end, she had to turn around and drive through Moulton and didn't get home until almost 6:30pm! She was not amused!

We sat and discussed our days and relaxed. Not the best start to a new week!

Back to reality!

We have been so lucky with the weather today! It's been a gorgeous day, sunny and warm. The clocks went forward so we lost a precious hour, but I was up at about 8:00am and sorting out our washing from the holiday.

Keith and I had no choice but to go to Tesco this morning as we needed some shopping. It was definitely back to earth with a bump! It's Mother's Day here in the UK, so Tesco was busy with people buying flowers. I was glad I'd bought everything I needed last week!

We did the shopping as quickly as we could and returned home to have lunch of leftover Chinese. In between writing the blog, I dealt with the laundry, and Sophie gave the house a quick clean. At 3:00pm, we drove over to see my Mum, but when we arrived, she was nowhere to be seen. I asked a carer where they were, but he didn't have a clue. Luckily, I saw one of the senior carers who said they'd gone down to a singer, who hadn't yet arrived.

I was annoyed as I'd called Mum earlier in the day, but I hadn't been able to get through. However, she knew we were visiting today and I'd brought a bottle of Prosecco with me so we could sit and enjoy a glass with her.

Downstairs, she was looking a bit bewildered, and I gave her the gifts I'd bought for her. My Dad immediately said that his watch was broken and they couldn't access Netflix again, so I was a little annoyed. It wasn't the best of visits!

On the way home, Sophie said that she thinks my Mum seems permanently confused now, which is worrying. It's hard to sit and have a conversation with her, and I felt like having a good cry, to be honest.

We spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the laundry (I managed to get it all dry because of the beautiful weather) and relaxing. I'd bought a lovely bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio in Tesco this morning and it accompanied our meal of cold meats and salad perfectly!

A Spring Break in Vienna 26th - 29th March 2025

Homeward Bound

I think the digestifs helped a bit last night as I wasn't uncomfortable. We were up, showered, dressed and packed by about 8:45am and ready for our last delicious breakfast.

This morning we sat next to a German couple and Sophie thought it was fun to list famous Austrians, including Hitler... luckily they were a friendly pair and didn't give us any funny looks! We didn't over-indulge today as we had a long journey ahead of us. 

Plans to go and see Karlskirche were abandoned as it was raining hard outside and I didn't see the point in trawling about in the wet for just an hour and a half. We checked out and sat in the lovely, quiet bar for an hour with our books. Bliss!

Sophie ordered an Uber at 11:00am, and he arrived to pick us up looking a little stressed as he said every road leading to the hotel was closed. He was not the most fragrant of drivers and had an aura of unwashed clothes and stale cigarettes hanging around him. Sophie was not at all happy, even though he had received good reviews. We set off for the airport, seeing signs for Bratislava and Budapest. I would love to drive to Vienna one day! We made good time and it was a relief when we arrived at the airport and said goodbye.

"Don't go to the red ladies!" 

We queued to drop off our two suitcases, and the woman checking them in was a little startling. She barked questions at us and then said, "Don't go to the red ladies!" What on earth did she mean? She also reminded us that we were flying with British Airways... yes, we knew that!

We had a bit of a chore going through security as I had to walk through the alarm doorway three times, and Sophie did twice. I had to remove my boots, check my pockets over and over again, and then I was subjected to a full feel-up.

We emerged into Duty Free and brought a giftpack of two bottles of Schlumberger sparkling wine to take home and enjoy. Our gate was already showing, so we walked there, flopped down in the seats and prepared for an hour's wait.

The remark from the check-in lady soon became apparent when we saw three women dressed in red at the desk. They were from Austrian Air and had just seen off the previous flight. I honestly don't think it would be possible to board the wrong flight in this day and age when everything is checked over and over!

Gradually, the seats at our gate filled up, and I checked the arrival of our flight from Heathrow. It was scheduled to arrive at about 1pm, and we were due to take off at 2pm, so it wasn't looking like we were going to be delayed.

Sophie bought us sandwiches and a small tube of Pringles for lunch, and we saw our plane taxi in, slightly later than scheduled. I hate this part of flying; the queuing to get on, the scrum in the aisles and trying to find room for belongings, and finding out who your neighbours are going to be for the flight! 

It wasn't too bad, though, and Sophie had booked us both aisle seats. I had a quiet American couple next to me, and soon we were taking off and heading back to the UK.

The flight was over quickly, and our pilot managed to get us back to Heathrow twenty minutes earlier than scheduled. We passed easily through passport control, but had to wait a while for our suitcases. As we emerged from the airport to get the bus back to the car park, we saw one waiting. Sophie took the bags off the trolley, but as we approached, it left!

We then had a mammoth wait for the next one! More people had turned up, including passengers who had flown in from India. When we eventually boarded the bus, they all stood at the front next to the luggage racks and swapped stories. There was a great atmosphere until one stop when a man pushed his way to the door and complained loudly about everyone blocking the aisle! A loud argument ensued!

The journey back to the car park went on and on. It had taken us longer to get out of the airport and back to the car than it had to fly back from Vienna! We were eventually reunited with Olive and set off for home, meeting heavy traffic as we joined the M25. However, it became easier, and we made it home for 7pm.

Keith was pleased to see us, and we sat and chatted before Sophie ordered us a Chinese takeaway for dinner. Michael had stayed with Keith while we were away, which made me feel a little easier about leaving him so soon after his hernia operation.

We had dinner and watched the celebrations taking place in Newcastle after their win the other week. It was great to visit Vienna and have a little break, but it was lovely to be home!

A Spring Break in Vienna 26th-29th of March 2025

A View to A Kiss

After another good night's sleep, we enjoyed a coffee each with two milks! We always try to leave a little tip for the room maids, and this had paid off with extra coffee and milk, another Ferrero Rocher chocolate and more toiletries! We showered, dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, but we weren't able to get a table near the nibbling woman of yesterday, so I was deprived of people-watching!

We had another hearty breakfast, with two cups of coffee, and discussed our day. We were going to the two Belvedere palaces today, and hoping to get a good view of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. In the afternoon, we wanted to visit the Hundertwasserhaus, a community housing project designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

I suggested taking the tram to the entrance of the Upper Belvedere, and it was a short walk to the tram stop. When it came along, we spotted a ticket machine on board, so we went to get on by another door, but it slammed shut and wouldn't open! It then departed! We had no choice but to wait for the next one, and we made sure we got on quickly! It was only two stops (we're bad, bad girls... we didn't pay!) and we alighted outside a welcoming Greek café. 

The café was serving breakfast, but we only wanted a hot drink each. Sophie chose a hot chocolate while I went with a coffee. Both were delicious.

Although today had started sunny and dry, the weather outside had turned cloudy while we were enjoying our drinks. We emerged to find it grey and chilly, and we had left our coats at the hotel!

We had booked tickets for the Belvederes online with a timed entry at 11am. Nobody made sure we were going in at the correct time, and we popped into the shop first, where I bought a bar of soap to add to my collection and Sophie bought postcards.

There were crowds of students waiting to go in, and this seemed to set the tone for the morning again. We decided to go and see The Kiss first, and Sophie was worried it would be difficult to get a good view. The inside of the palace was gorgeous, and paintings adorned the walls. We saw a Monet - a view of his garden at Giverny, and an Edvard Munch painting of a naked man.

There were a lot of people about and it was warm inside the building. We managed to get a great view of The Kiss, but Sophie was annoyed by people posing in front of it.

Klimt loved the use of gold leaf in his paintings, and The Kiss was finished in 1908. 

The two people are thought to be Klimt himself and his great love, Emilie Flöge. It's a stunning painting, and we were entranced by it. 

We saw another couple of paintings by Klimt:

Including this much more conventional painting:

It was lovely to wander around and gaze at the artwork, but the crowds were a bit onerous, so we left Upper Belvedere and walked down to the Lower Belvedere. The gardens were set out very formally and are open to all. I should imagine it's beautiful in the summer.

The exhibition was Gustav Klimt - Pigment and Pixel and examined what lay beneath his works and how he applied pigments and gold leaf to his paintings. We also saw the Ceiling Paintings, commissioned for the Great Hall of the University of Vienna and destroyed by fire in 1945. Artificial Intelligence was used to recreate the paintings from black and white photographs, which can be seen in all their glory.

We rested in the café and ordered an Aperol Spritz each while sitting and chatting. It was great to relax for half an hour!

Not so colourful!

After our little break, we went to find a tram stop to get to the Hundertwasserhaus. Sophie used Google Maps and we managed to get on a tram near the Lower Belvedere. This time we bought two 24-hour tickets for about 16 euros. This tram took us a short distance and we had to change. After a little confusion, we found the right one and then had a short walk to the apartment block designed to be a little different from normal, conventional buildings. The apartment block was opened in 1986 and about two hundred people live in the fifty apartments, each one individually designed. 

There were people taking photographs, but I had to admit I was a bit disappointed with the appearance of the apartment building. Perhaps March is not a good time to visit?

They just looked grubby to me! We went into a small arcade of shops and had a look around. We fancied something to eat by now as it was almost 2pm.

I treated myself to a book about Klimt in a hugely colourful shop selling lots of ornaments, posters and gifts.

Back outside, we spotted a terrace café so we went up to a perfect little eatery, which was warm and cosy. Sophie ordered a beef soup while I chose Viennese sausages served with mustard and bread. We ordered two large glasses of wine to accompany our lunch.

The food was delicious and perfect for what we wanted. My dish came with a small pile of what looked like grated cheese but was, in fact, horseradish. Sophie really didn't appreciate me giving her some to taste!

Again, the staff were friendly and everyone we've met on this break has been hospitable and welcoming. Sophie wanted to try Topfenstrudel, a cheesecake-like dessert wrapped in pastry with sultanas and served with custard, so we shared a portion. It didn't disappoint!

We lingered over our lunch as the café was so warm. Outside, it had started to rain, and Sophie researched how to get back to the hotel by using the tram. She figured out we could take one from outside the apartment block right to our hotel! Perfect!

We emerged into the misty, grey afternoon and walked to the tram stop. I spotted an antique shop across the road, so we decided to have a look. To Sophie's delight, she found the shop was selling rings and other jewellery as well as old ornaments, postcards, glasses and bric-a-brac. It was lovely to browse and Sophie found a ring! She was delighted!

Back outside, we took the next tram and enjoyed a journey seeing a lot of Vienna landmarks - we saw the Rathaus (Town Hall), the Parliament Building, the famous Burgtheater and went past the Opera House again. The tram was a great way to see the city without walking!

We alighted opposite our hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, packing and freshening up. We had asked one of the receptionists to book a table at a nearby restaurant, but it was fully booked, so we decided to reserve a table at a brewery restaurant called Wieder Bräu, which had been recommended to us. 

Thirty Norwegians!

Before dinner, we went to the bar for a drink but had to sit at a table next to the breakfast room. A woman who had been talking non-stop this morning at breakfast was holding court again, and her voice could be heard from where we were sitting. Suddenly, it stopped and we realised they'd gone, so we were able to sit on the sofas opposite the bar. The barman from last night took our drinks order - glasses of Austrian red wine this evening - and asked what our plans were. We said we were going for dinner but would return for a nightcap afterwards. He warned us that the bar would be busy as thirty Norwegians were staying and coming back to the bar later in the evening...

We enjoyed our glasses of red and set out to walk the short distance to the restaurant. It was almost 8pm and still busy on the streets with trams gliding past, clonking their bells. We arrived to find the restaurant pleasantly buzzing and took our seats at a table at the far end.

There was no English translation of the menu, so we had to use a QR code. We chose a bottle of Austrian red wine, with crispy cauliflower wings to share as a starter, followed by beef goulash for Sophie and "onion" beef for me. We noticed the loud woman from the hotel having dinner with three other people and talking non-stop again! 

I was fascinated by a couple sitting at a table opposite. She was pretty with long, dark hair, and was clearly a little inebriated. She'd had a loud video conversation with somebody on her phone, and although they'd finished their meal, they each had another stein of the restaurant's cloudy beer. I could tell she was drunk as her eyes weren't focusing, and when she got up to go to the loo, her partner managed to surreptitiously drink half her beer, making sure he put it back exactly where it had been. She didn't appear to notice! When they got up to leave, she couldn't put her coat on properly, so he had to help her! Oh dear!

We enjoyed our meals, but the portions were huge! With mine, the staff had cunningly hidden another steak under the top one, and the potatoes would have fed an army. Sophie had a huge pile of small dumplings (gnocchi?) on her plate with copious amounts of beef. Needless to say, both meals defeated us!

My main course!

Cauliflower starter

More people arrived to sit near us and there was a lovely atmosphere in the restaurant. The two waiters asked where we were from and started chatting to Sophie about Newcastle United. Football is a great conversation starter!

We paid the bill (about 80 euros) and walked back to the hotel in the gently falling rain. There were still people about and we saw another couple of restaurants on the way.

The hotel bar was blissfully quiet, no Norwegians in sight. Both of us were a little worried about how we'd sleep after our big meal, so I asked the barman for a Fernet Branca, a digestif, for us. Again, he asked if we'd had one before and said it could be bitter. He suggested another called Averna, so we had one of both. Predictably, Sophie hated the Fernet Branca but managed to sip the Averna. 

We were mostly left alone tonight as the barman was busy talking to another couple. I think he had met his match with them as the man went on and on about his job when he used to televise operas...

After the digestifs, we had a Cointreau, and it was way past 11pm when we finished and headed up to bed. There had been no Norwegians, so hopes of seeing Morten Harket lookalikes were well and truly dashed!

A Spring Break in Vienna 26th-29th March 2025

People watching...

We both had a great night's sleep and woke up refreshed and looking forward to a day of exploring. By 8:30am, we were heading down to the ground floor for breakfast, and I was particularly looking forward to a strong coffee!

We took a table outside the main breakfast room and gave our coffee order to the waiter. There was no coffee machine, my only small gripe about the hotel, as I usually have two or three coffees with breakfast and like to go and get my own rather than attract the attention of the staff. I had made one in the room with a sachet of instant Nescafé, but there were only two milks, which weren't enough!

We helped ourselves to cereal, fruit, bread, cold meats, cheeses and hot foods such as bacon, eggs, sausage patties and baked beans. There was so much choice and you could help yourself to a glass of fizz if you wanted.

When we arrived, a young girl was seated at a table for six, but it was reserved just for her. She was eating when we arrived, and she was still eating when we left. On the table were various jars, and Sophie said she saw a huge pot of coconut oil. I was fascinated with her; she was making a real job of eating breakfast, and I have no idea what she was nibbling on! She was as slim as a reed, so it can't have been fattening!

After breakfast, we looked at the itinerary for the day: a walk to the Naschmarkt, followed by a visit to the Secession Building, a glass of wine (or two!) at a recommended wine shop/bar, and then the Stephansdom Cathedral. A late lunch at Café Savoy would round off the day before our date with the Opera tonight.

Caught off guard...

It was a beautiful day and we set off along quiet streets to the market, which was about a fifteen minute walk. 

I know we shouldn't compare, but Vienna reminded me a lot of Berlin, with tall apartment buildings, small squares, and the trams. We were near a large underground station called Karlplatz (could be Alexanderplatz) and the Karlskirche was very similar to the Berlinerdom.

We arrived at the market and the first few stalls were selling nuts, spices and dried fruits. One of the stall holders held out a scoop of red, sweet almonds. We each took one, and this started a barrage of shouting as the man tried to get us to try everything. In the end, we chose sugar-encrusted cashew nuts as I know Keith likes them. They were advertised at 3,90 euros for 100g, but with consumate skill and cunning, the stall-holder managed to sell us 10 euros-worth! If he had tipped any more on the scales Sophie, who was already annoyed, would  have walked away. This taught us a lesson! From then on we walked resolutely past similar stalls and ignored them!

A stall selling bottles of Balsamic vinegar

There were stalls for everything from fruit and vegetables, to meat, cheese and fish. Some stalls sold tourist tat (we were on the lookout for Vienna playing cards), and we came across a lovely one selling scented soaps. I fancied another coffee so we chose a bar called Stella and sat in the sun. It was bliss to feel the sun on our faces and watch the hustle and bustle of the market.

We ordered a coffee and a hot chocolate and my drink came with a glass of water, something that happens a lot in Vienna. We sat and chatted and did a bit of people-watching, always my favourite activity!

"What does it mean?!"

Sophie didn't feel like exploring the market anymore. She was still annoyed with the stall-holder who sold us the nuts, so we made our way to the Secession building. On the way we spotted the most beautiful wine shop, specialising in Austrian wines, but also selling wines and spirits from around the world. 

I saw wines from Austria that we would never see in the UK. The temptation to buy a bottle or two was strong, but I didn't fancy carting them around with us all day! We had a good look and then left, very reluctantly!

The Secession building was opposite and attracted a lot of attention when it was re-built after the war. It was originally designed by Joseph Olbrich, one of the founders (with Gustav Klimt) of the Secession movement, an art style closely related to Art Nouveau, between 1897-1898. It was destroyed in the Second World War and when it was re-built, it was heavily criticised. It's a solid white cubist building with a sculpture of gold laurel leaves on top. 

A group of teenagers had taken control of the steps leading to the main entrance and they followed us wherever we went inside the art gallery. It cost 12 euros each to get in, and see three artists displaying their work, and to see the Klimt Beethoven Frieze on the ground floor.

We made for this first and entered a long narrow room with the frieze painted onto the wall above. The room was full of people, some of whom were attempting to copy the frieze into their art books. I was to learn a lot about Klimt over the next few days and was so interested in him that I bought a book about his life and paintings. He loved the nude female form and naked women adorned the frieze (I spotted one male). Of course, his most famous painting is The Kiss... more of this later.

Pregnant woman and nudes - not sure what the King Kong figure is doing?

More nudes and a man!

We walked slowly around the room admiring the frieze which was created in 1902 and tells the story of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Ode to Joy.

From the basement we climbed back up the stairs and had a look at each exhibiting artist in turn. First up was "Autofictions in Stone" by Aglaia Konrad. This was an exhibition featuring a room full of different stone, almost like a mini Stonehenge, followed by another room with more chunks of stone positioned on a large sofa, and then a video of a stone quarry. This was quite mesmerising to watch. Groups of teenagers appeared, mostly looking bored, and not taking the slightest bit of interest in the exhibition.

Next up was bizarre. It was like being at Tate Modern in London. We entered a huge, square room painted white. Various weird things were positioned in the room. These consisted of a shuttlecock stuck into the floor, broken wood heaped up together, what looked like a hoover and an office chair intertwined and hanging from the ceiling, strips of blue ribbon suspended, and weirdest of all, a row of cigarette butts in plastic bags labelled differently... hmmm!

Any clue?

Sophie found this unsettling

No idea what this was supposed to be!

Sophie and cigarette butts

The artist was Yuki Okumura. I have no idea of what any of it meant.

The last exhibition by Ana Vaz was called "Meteoro", and was up another flight of stairs. This consisted of a large video screen with a man talking in French. The pictures displayed were upside down.

The whole room was dark and was occupied by teenagers... they had found their place at last! We didn't go in and Sophie said she found the French commentary unsettling again. Apparently, the video featured Paris and Porto, and depicted them as on the verge of collapse or on the path to extinction... OK!

By now I'd had enough and was muttering about a waste of money and time, but I think Sophie really enjoyed the exhibition. We had seen it, not understood it, but sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone!

A little tipple

As we emerged from the building, Sophie realised that the Wine Shop - Wein & Co - was where she intended for us to have a glass of wine! We crossed the road and went right to the back of the shop where there was a bar and high tables. We sat at one right by the window overlooking the Secession building and a busy intersection.

We tried a white wine first, one I had never heard of - the Wiener Gemischter Satz Mauer. The prices were reasonable and were served in 125ml measures. We added an order of grissini (Italian chunky breadsticks) to the wines, so we had something to munch on.

The wine was delicious, fresh and fruity, but again, we'd be unlikely to spot this in the UK. For our second wine, we asked the friendly waiter to recommend a Rosé and he chose another Vienna wine for us to try.

Note the dedicated cyle lane right next to the pavement

It was very relaxing sitting drinking wine, but we had more sights to see! We took a slow walk past the Secession building again, past the Opera House, and into an upmarket shopping area. This was very busy with tourists and we looked in a couple of shops to see if we could find playing cards. Sophie wanted a pack with Klimt paintings on them.

This area was a mix of old and new and we stumbled upon a beautiful little church - the Malteser Church of Saint John the Baptist. It was gorgeous nestled amongst shops  selling clothes, jewellery and chocolate. Strangely, this area reminded both Sophie and me of Lucerne in Switzerland!

We spotted an Audi café (I've never seen one before but I would loved to have stopped for a coffee) and more churches along back streets.

Easter bunnies

The mix of old and new

We had seen the spire of Stephansdom Cathedral in the distance and it was situated in the heart of the shopping district. It was heaving with tourists and Sophie lit candles for Monty and Archie. 

The foundations of the cathedral date back to 1147, but later additions date from the 14th and 15th centuries. The intricate stonework was gorgeous.

We had a look at the inside, but didn't venture any further. It would have cost us about 25 euros to go in, and also down to the catacombs, but we didn't have enough time (or inclination, to be honest). Both of us were now getting a little peckish, so we went back outside and Sophie hailed an Uber to take us back the way we had walked, and a little further on.

Stone and steel

Delightful kisses...

Our late lunch destination was the Café Savoy, dating from 1897. It was opposite the further end of the market and we took a seat by the window. The speciality is, of course, the Wiener Schnitzel. We ordered two glasses of Grüner Veltliner wine and the food, and sat back to relax. 

The restaurant was pleasantly busy with a great atmosphere. Our food arrived, brought by a stunningly beautiful waitress with long dark hair and a gorgeous figure. She had an endearingly deep, throaty voice, and was very friendly and attentive. We have found everyone to be warm and welcoming here, which has been great!

The food was great; it was hot and tasty and served with cubes of roast potatoes and tartare sauce.

After the pork schnitzel, we found room for Sachertorte and our lovely waitress added whipped cream for us.

The service and ambience were fantastic and all that we had hoped for. The prices were also reasonable - the schnitzel was about 13 euroes, but elsewhere in the city you can pay double that. We had our friendly hotel receptionist to thank for the recommendation!

We asked for the bill and left our server a generous tip. She was over the moon and hugged and kissed us! What a lovely end to a great meal!

Preening and posing

We left the Café Savoy and took a slow walk back to the hotel, calling into the food market on the way and buying sweets and gifts to take home. Once back at the hotel, we found time for a little nap and a hot shower before getting ready to go out again.

We had to be at the Opera House by 7:30pm. Latecomers were not allowed entry once the performance  began. We had a drink in the hotel first and sat at the bar for a change. The barman from last night wasn't working this evening, so we had a different man take our order. He asked where we were from and when we told him Northampton, and said it was about 60 miles north of London, he said he knew exactly where it was as he had lived and worked in the UK and had "visited every county"!

He made us both an Aperol Spritz but unlike the man from the previous evening who was friendly but kept his distance, he never stopped talking to us, which was slightly annoying! We enjoyed our drinks, nibbled our nuts, and by 6:30pm we were ready to walk the short distance to the Opera House. It was a gorgeous evening and the sun had gone down leaving the sky a beautiful pink colour.

The streets were still busy and we made it to the Opera House in good time, after working out how to get in! The inside of the building was sumptuous and people were arriving for the performance of Iolanta, an opera by Tchaikovsky.

Some people were dressed up and were being heartily annoying by posing and preening on the wide stairs leading up to the concert hall. Sophie and I had never seen anything like it! Instagram has made narcissists of a lot of people these days!

There were no signs telling us where to go and nowhere to store our coats. It was stiflingly hot and we had to climb three flights of stairs before anyone could tell us where to go. On the way up we kept getting into people's photos and Sophie heard a lot of tutting. Tough!

We discovered we were in a box and we could hang our coats in a little ante-room. The box was tiny with three chairs at the front, two behind and two behind that (ours). We hoped fervently that the other five people wouldn't turn up... but they did!

In front of the chairs on the first row was a little tablet and we had one each in the wall to our right. This showed subtitles when the performers sang, which was enormously helpful as the words were Russian!

Iolanta was Tchaikovsky's last opera and is about a blind princess who doesn't know that she is blind, or a princess. She is bethrothed to Robert but he is in love with someone else. Iolanta is cared for by Marta and her husband Bertrand at a hidden place deep within the forest. Robert and his friend Vaudémont stumble upon Iolanta while she is asleep and Vaudémont falls in love with her despite her being blind. With his love, she accepts treatment to cure her, and they live happily ever after.

Gradually, our fellow opera-goers arrived and took their seats. The two German women who sat in front of us were not small and dainty, and both reeked of cigarette smoke... However, one of them was friendly and explained to us in English about the subtitles.

The opera was fantastic and although I had difficulty seeing sometimes (the woman on the far right on the front row never stopped moving), I am a definite fan. At the most important, critical point, the woman in front of us disappeared to smoke a cigarette! Why would you?!

At the very end, when Iolanta gained her sight, the curtain fell to reveal what looked like war-torn Gaza... was that right? It was all very deep!

We joined the throngs of people leaving and we were soon back at the hotel. Before bed we decided to have a nightcap and this time made sure we sat on one of the sofas well away from the bar. When the barman came over, Sophie ordered a Schnapps but he asked whether she had ever had one before. When she said no, he gave her a lecture about how it tasted and that as a woman she wouldn't like it, so she changed her mind, and we both ordered a shot of Drambuie. Sophie was seething about his comments and his inference that she couldn't handle strong alcohol!

He brought us our Drambuies but also gave us a small measure of the Schnapps. Sophie took a sip and wondered what all the fuss was about! 

Cheers! And goodnight!