Greenway and Compton Castle

I went to visit two National Trust properties around the English Riviera. This is the Torbay area of Devon and mostly comprises the towns of Torquay, Brixham and Paignton.

None of the properties are in the towns but as the Trust uses the twitter handle @NTRiviera to include them that'll do for me!

Greenway was the holiday home of Agatha Christie. It has limited parking and you are pointed to Green transport..... River boat or steam train.

The property is not "important"  other I guess than the association with Christie but it has a lovely setting (I can well understand why she chose it) and contains her family collections. It is well worth a visit.

Just get your book and sit and watch the world go by.

Compton Castle was the home of Sir Humphrey Gilbert who colonized Newfoundland for the English. It went to ruin until a later Gilbert bought it back and restored it. Small but a lovely rose garden.

Bodiam Castle

I was at Bodiam Castle last weekend.

Bodiam is what many people think of when they imagine the perfect castle. It was built in 1385 the castle was dismantled during the English Civil War in the 1640's.

Milan

We were up early and off to Milan doing battle with not only Trentitalia but the Milan underground (easy I might add).

The Duomo

Perhaps the best bit is that you can get to the roof terraces. You can either walk for 7 euros or get the lift for 12 euros..... naturally I got the lift :)

I find this a bit incongruous close to the   the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II shopping mall which is home to Prada and Gucci

And a little away from that temple to consumer luxury.....

a table sale....

We met up with Laura and Bianca  who we had only known through facebook. They guided us around some different parts of town. Including a church that seemed to have a normal apse but it was an optical illusion created by the artist.


Bianca, Trish and Laura

This looks a much more Italian part of the city..... but hang on what's that I spy?

A red Beitish phone box!! We saw two!

We left the ladies and headed back to Verona. There was a parade of old cars shooting around the city in the evening.