Study

A very old license plate, which looks like it was originally issued to a farm vehicle.

Cowley

While the dreaming spires are still in view, Cowley is a world apart from Oxford. I stayed here for a few days with friends and fell in love with the place. Great energy and even better coffee.

Madrid Airport

Noted for its outstanding design, Madrid Airport is worth a look around. Although I didn't make it as far as Terminal 4, which won the 2006 Stirling Prize, I enjoyed the design in the parts of the airport I saw.

Madrid Cafe

The coffee in Madrid is amazing. I found this place off of Plaza Sol and it was packed. In Spain, the price one pays seems to depend on location. Prices are higher outside on the trattoire, which is to be expected. But I was surprised to discover that it was cheaper to eat at the bar in this particular cafe.

Madrid at Night

It's been a long day and we're both tired, so I will post a few quick pictures. This is the view from our room.

Madrid during the Day

Although it was January, the weather was much warmer in Madrid than it had been in England. The city is organised around different plazas, or squares. On our first day, we did a fair amount of walking before taking a break at a trattoire on one of the plazas. A few glasses of red wine had a restorative effect. The cuba libre nearly destroyed me, however. The Spanish pour *very* generous measures. Of course, no one made me drink it all.

Weekend

Off to Madrid this weekend for M's birthday, which is on Monday. He'll have to wait till then to open his gift.

Rain, rain, rain

It rains in the morning and the night, when it's cloudy and when it's sunny.

More Roses

More roses for Mom.

Town Sign

Dreary day in town, but this sign caught my eye. It tells the history of Caversham from the middle ages.

Town Centre

A statue of Queen Victoria in Reading's town centre. The light was poor, so the shot didn't come out very clear. She always seems to epitomise the best and worst of Reading, with the best belonging to the distant past.

Heritage Motor Centre

Today we took a trip into Warwickshire where we visited the museum at Heritage Motor Centre. Lots of lovely old motors are on display, including this rather fine 1956 Rover T3 coupe. See my other blog for pictures of Land Rovers.

Ducks

There's been a lot of rain this week. We spotted these ducks swimming in a puddle while we were out.

Roses

These roses are from Kenya.

Caversham

There is usually a black bird in this tree when I go past. So far, I have yet to capture a picture.
A very squally day.