Somewhere in 2023 I lost my blogging/writing mojo. However, my wanderlust was alive and kicking! Hopefully I will get back on the scribing saddle in 2024, but here is a quick summary of travels in the past year, plus one or two to come.

2023

April – Rhodes

24 years after we were engaged in Rhodes Mrs Wilbur & I returned to the wonderful Greek island for a few sun drenched days.

May – Whitby & North Yorkshire

Despite hailing from lovely Devon, I think that the Ridings of Yorkshire take the prize for the best region in England.

We used Whitby as our base, stopping off near York for one night en route.

We quite liked Whitby but loved the area and its stunning coastline. We also took the fabulous North Yorkshire Moors Railway to Pickering and back. Diesel out and steam back. Along the way we had a cream tea at Goathland Station, made famous as Hogwarts Station in the Harry Potter films.

June – Bilbao & San Sebastián

My nephew Josh and I ventured to Spain to take in a La Liga football match between Real Sociedad and Sevilla. Beautiful weather, gorgeous food and some entertaining football.

July – North West Italy & San Marino

We embarked on a tour primarily by train taking in Bologna, Rimini, San Marino, Parma, Modena, Padova, Milan (to see Depeche Mode at the San Siro Stadium) and Lake Garda. The latter a bonus trip courtesy of striking Italian air traffic controllers.

It was hot but a truly wonderful trip. San Marino also saw me complete a visit to every European country.

September – Paris, Chantilly, Toulouse & Carcassonne

Eurostar for a few days in Paris including a day train trip to Chantilly, was then followed by a train South to Toulouse and a day train trip to Carcassonne.

November/December – Philippines & South Korea

The big 3-week trip to Asia was left to the end of the year. A tour of the largest Filipino island of Luzon followed by a few days in Seoul with my travel buddy Hamish. A truly fabulous trip.