New Year's Eve in Reykjavik is absolutely mental. Everyone buys seriously huge fireworks and they're set off willy-nilly all over town. They started at around midday when it was still light and continued ceaselessly until sometime after 2am. Words can't describe. The video below is the view from our hotel balcony to give you a sense of the mayhem.

Tonight we went to the Revolution cycle series grand final in Manchester with Sue and Nick. I think I've finally found a sport I like. It was varied, fast-paced, tactical and riveting.

Proudly showing Sue and Nick around our 'hood.

We're off to Dublin for the weekend to visit Chantelle and her mum. Handy dandy being in Manchester with such an accessible airport.

Robin

Atop the hill behind Chantelle's mum's house.

Chantelle's mum's house

The inside of the cathedral in Albi in France. The outside is pretty stark. It's massive.

Exploring Lautrec with Tony and Trish. They're house sitting here and Tony's turning 50 this week.

We had a bit of a big night last night so have been delicately and jadedly poking around. We went out for a long leisurely French lunch after Lautrec.

Baked camembert with garlic and rosemary poked into it. Accompanied with Toulouse sausage and stuffed mushrooms.

Using only fluid French I've just ordered three coffees for Sally and me.

650 beers at the Manchester beer and cider festival last night. I've never seen so many cask beers and hand pumps in one place. It was inside the massive ex-railway station which makes for an excellent venue. Nice food, too.

We're in Berlin for a belated surprise birthday for Sal. Arrived yesterday morning, checked in at our hotel and immediately went on a walking tour.

In the evening we went on a beer tour which took us to the more lively and cultural parts of the city.

Today most shops are shut so we'll visit a market, the Holocaust museum and go out for a fancy dinner.

We're flying back to Manchester on Monday.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

2711 concrete blocks of varying height in a grid on an undulating bowl.

When you walk through it they get taller and more oppressive. The artist has never said what it's supposed to mean but experiencing it you feel something.

I tried to imagine each block was a person and realised I literally can't fathom what millions of people would look like.

We went to York for the weekend. I love love love York. Caught up with a couple of friends and donated a bit of money to the pubs and restaurants.