Tag: travel
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Orvieto, Lucca e Firenze … a catch up
Last Sunday I visited the charming hilltop town of Orvieto. It was pleasant to wander around the flea market and the shops. The Cathedral is really lovely and the town is quaint with many little backstreets. This week I enjoyed my classes and went out with my new friends most days. I also visited an…
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Bellissima Monteriggioni
Today I took a bus ride through the lovely Tuscan countryside to this perfect little hilltop town. Set amidst olive groves, vineyards and rolling green hills it is difficult to describe its qualities. The walls were constructed in the 1220s and the town was a defensive stronghold for the Republic of Siena against its perpetual…
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The villa of King Zog at Durres … disintegrating dreams
This was a haunting place. Built by King Zog, short–lived king of Albania in the 30s, as a place for receptions and as a summer retreat he only enjoyed it for a year before he was deposed. Walking through the derelict rooms echoes of the interwar years whispered of cocktails, jazz, parties, intrigue and politics.…
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Durres … a seaside town and Albanian politics
I arrived in Durres this morning having ditched bus and train travel … there are no trains and after six weeks the buses with a rucksack were too complicated … so a cheap taxi! Durres is a port city and with its spacious city square and palm trees seems, at first sight, more cosmopolitan than…
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Tirana … old and new
The contrast between Ohrid and here couldn’t be greater. Ohrid: charm, the lake, calm. Tirana: noisy, intense, and impenetrable. A city of crumbling buildings against the modern civic area of Government departments where new high rises go up apace … there is some good modern architecture. My arrival was not without trauma. My hostel no…
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Ohrid … a discovery
It surprises me continuously that there are so many unexpected and hidden beauties in what at first sight appear to be nondescript countries. Ohrid is one such. Macedonia, mountainous and often overlooked suddenly reveals a totally different character here. Sunny, expressive, glittering. This morning I went out early, both to escape the crowds and the…
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Walking in Skopje
I’ve just taken a long walk through the city. Now I’m sitting in a cafe with coffee and baklava pretentiously reading L’Etranger. But in fact I don’t feel pretentious; rather I feel a little as if I’m finding more of myself. I’ve come to Camus a little late in life but he seems to be…
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Skopje: boats, caves, cable cars,views
I arrived in Skopje yesterday evening. The hostel is charming, family run and an enjoyable waik away from the city centre, lying in the hills with tree lined streets and a pleasant garden. After a good nights sleep I decided on a tour to some of the sights out of town so I took the…
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The last of Thessaloniki
It’s still and quiet here in the monastery courtyard. A dog barks, swallows wheel above; peacocks scream and doves murmur; a cat passes. time to reflect, contemplate and meditate. Now to make my way North and home.
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Meteora… an incredible experience
Today was something I will never forget. These photos will not do Meteora justice. A three hour drive took us past a snow-capped Mount Olympus to Meteora in Central Greece. Home to 24 monasteries built on vertiginous precipices in the remote region of Meteora. In greek it means “between the earth and the sky”. Isolated…
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Thessaloniki … Cats, churches, monks and monasteries
So today I was out early in my usual search for coffee. Success; not Starbucks. I was on a mission to visit as many of the Byzantine churches included in the UNESCO list for Thessaloniki. I managed nine of the 14. They are rather wonderful. They date from the fourth to the fourteenth centuries and…
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Plovdiv … Ottoman houses and the remains of Philippopolis
Another great day with visits to more Roman sites with Volcan. Plovdiv was anciently settled in neolithic times but the Roman occupation began in the first century when the city was called Philippopolis. There are remains of the stadium(some under the local H&M!), the forum, the East Gate and the beautiful amphitheatre. Despite my fear…
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What’s great about Plovdiv?
I arrived here by minivan this morning. An easy trip which dropped me five minutes from this fabulous hostel in a mid nineteenth century listed house right in the centre of the old town. The room is beautiful and I have an antique bed with painted headboard … I feel like a king or a…
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Long days journey into night … and day … Sofia
Well I arrived in Sofia after a gruelling six hour overnight bus ride, I’ve been awake for 30 hours. Now I’m in the hostel but I arrived 5.30am and couldn’t register until 2.00 pm. I left my bags and toured the city for breakfast, being Easter Monday not much was open so was left with…
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Bucharest … a day of revelation
This has been an amazing day … two day trips exploring Bucharest’s turbulent past and its effect on the city and its development from medieval times to the present. My guides are passionate about their city and unflinching in exploring it with us. A trip through Bucharest’s history This mornings guide was Stefan who lead…
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Bucharest … “Little Paris”
After a pleasant trip through the snow capped Carpathian Mountains I arrived in a sunny Bucharest. I’ve settled into the hostel which is immaculate I have taken my usual stroll through the streets. I think it will be an interesting visit. It’s pretty busy and while it may not have the charm of some places…
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Sunshine … a beautiful day in Brasov and new friends
Brasov in the sun is beautiful. The hostel is fine and roomies chatty and ready to be open. Just the type of place I like most. This morning I took a free tour around the town with Alex our guide; it was a convivial group from all over the world. I had some interesting chats…
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At Sibiu … ancient capital of Transylvania
An early start on the 7.00 am train this morning for a day trip to this town in the south. A two hour journey of 50 miles, the train stopped at every station and little halt where passengers waited by the line and literally clambered aboard. But at £6 return I’m not complaining. The countryside…
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Sighisoara Romania
I left Budapest at 11 last night on the sleeper to Sighisoara. Night sleepers in Eastern Europe have a resonance… spies, murder and intrigue are the tropes we have from films and novels. The reality was less romantic and much more interesting. . An antique station and an even more antiquated train in a cramped…
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My first full day in Prague
Well today has been full on. It’s been warm and sunny all day… T-shirt weather. My agenda was: visit to the Jewish quarter, visit to Tyn church, castle and cathedral area, wandering through the city looking at the architecture and finally a concert at the Clementinum. Prague is a rather beautiful city; cobbled streets, amazing…
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Wandering in Regensburg
As Augsburg didn’t enthral me after an early breakfast I went to catch the train to Regensburg… another UNESCO city famed for its well preserved old town. It’s a spacious and pretty place with multicoloured building from the Roman period through the middle ages to the Baroque. Situated on the Danube it is pleasant to…
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Augsburg
I arrived in Augsburg after a slightly delayed train journey. Well I’m not entirely impressed. I had to book a cheap hotel as the only hostel is a proper youth hostel and I’m obviously not in that category. I have a single room and it’s clean but not very sociable. I’ve taken my usual evening…
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A day in Speyer … it’s gemuttlich
Well after a late night last night I woke late so a quick cup of coffee and off to the station for my trip to Speyer. 45 minutes on the train and I arrived in this genteel and rather bourgeois town. It’s small but full of beautiful little back streets and shops me interesting churches…
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Strasbourg
Well this is a charming city, full of character on a beautiful spring day. It’s a little disconcerting to be in a border town which looks so German and yet feels French. The rivers are beautiful to stroll by and the small squares are pleasant to sit and dream in. The magnolias are in full…
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Travel, searching and being queer
Life is a sum of all your choices”. So, what are you doing today? Albert Camus I’ve often posted about travel; the opportunities, the freedom, the possibility of reinvention and how I’ve felt many of the people I’ve met seem to be searching for a place to fit in this world. Gradually my sense of…
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Nikko … at Tosho-gu … a shogun’s resting place
I think Japan saved the best until the last. I had intended to visit Nikko, another UNESCO site but seemed a little thwarted. The train line there was complicated even by Japanese standards and getting a ticket was like an intelligence test which I almost failed but managed in the end. It was worth it.…
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Kabuki-za … a trip to the theatre
One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was to visit Kabuki performance and I was lucky enough to book a show here at the Kabuki-za in Ginza. It’s traditional theatre developed in the Edo period and the three plays I saw today were written in 1719. The first was the first…
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Tokyo National Museum… a rainy day
Yesterday ended well. Marci, (an American) had her birthday so Roxanne (Dutch) and I went out to a great restaurant to celebrate with her. The restaurant was on the seventh floor of a building in Shibuya. I’m always surprised by what goes on in these high rises; this one had several restaurants, a theatre, cinema,…
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First day in Tokyo … the epitome of Japan?
Up with the lark I decided to get going and sample the delights of Tokyo. I saw the sunrise and that inspired me. I decided to visit the studenty, boho type area at Shimokitazawa. I walked which was interesting as much of the way was through pleasant residential streets. I was s bit disappointed… lots…
Escape to myself 