Tag: travel
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Northern Lights and Þingvellir
Last night after a very stormy day the skies cleared and it was so windy that I was blown over! But Northern Lights trip was on! The snow ploughs had been out as roads out of Reykjavik had been impassable during the day. We left Reykjavik about 9.30pm and drove about an hour out of…
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My last day
Well I’ve just finished my last lesson. My Italian has improved and I’ve learned a lot although I got off to an over ambitious start which dented my confidence. The grammar of prepositions has been very difficult as Italian has about seven variants for each one and they use them differently … English is much…
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A visit to Queer Cinema Festival
The film I’ve just seen was a documentary on Intersec. It was stunning, touching, heartbreaking and joyful. The experiences of the people interviewed were shocking and troubling and the efforts made to maintain a purely binary view of sexual identity by society and the medical profession were terrible and still exist today. What came through…
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Today … visits to Flea Market at Santo Spirito, Brancacci Chapel and Queer Cinema
Last night I enjoyed a delicious dinner at Laura’s with some of her friends. I had met Gregorio and Roberta before. They are charming. They had a very rapid conversation about the Meloni situation which was amusing. Cloister at Santo Spirito … a rather austere church Santo Spirito contains a crucifix by the young Michelangelo……
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Capella Scrovegni a Padua e Giotto
I’m writing this sitting by the Grand Canal having my Colazzione. Yesterday was very busy: St Marks, Doge’s Palace and Padua combined with a lot of walking. As i walked I was struck by how hard it must be living in Venice. Bridges and steps everywhere, deliveries by trollies, hauled up and over bridges or…
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A day in Arezzo
Yesterday evening after a busy day and a 2 mile walk in 30 degree heat from Santo Spirito along the Arno I found Laura had invited Cristina, my host from my stay in Florence in June, to dinner with her friend Gianfranco. Laura and Cristina are good friends it seems. It was lovely to see…
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A last evening in Oslo
Rivers and Hipsters … Grunerlokka I thought I should visit the hippest place in Oslo before I Left. You walk by the river and it many waterfalls on the way to Grunerlokka an old industrial area. Full of bars, thrift shops and graffiti. It’s really interesting and just around the corner from the hostel. I’ll…
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At the FolkeMuseum Bygdoy
This was a great day out and the weather was beautiful today; a ferry trip to the museum and a wander around this enlightening space. Founded in the 1890s it’s sim is to display Norwegian culture and heritage through buildings and objects. It is a little like our Weald Museum in Sussex and it contains…
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At the Munch Museum
I was blown away by this museum. A comprehensive view of Munch his life, his art and his themes and their interconnection. Of course like the Mona Lisa the Scream was almost impossible to see. However the vast array of prints, paintings and drawings more than made up for it. The themes that coloured Munich’s…
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First impressions of Oslo
Well the hostel is fine if large like all these northern hostels. I miss the smaller type of hostel I found in Italy. The city is modern and I was told it was boring but so far I’ve walked the city centre, past the Cathedral and ended up by the fjord and the Akerhus fortress…
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At the Vasamuseet
I spent a fascinating morning at the Vasa museum. Like our own Mary Rose this Swedish warship was salvaged from the Baltic having also sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628. Supposedly state of the art the ship is in a great state of preservation as a result of the brackish Baltic waters and is…
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Wandering in Stockholm Old Town.
I’m now wandering in Stockholm Old City getting my bearings. It’s very attractive with its cobbled streets and painted buildings. It is very touristy but that’s to be expected. Tomorrow I’ll go in search of something less so. I’ve been recommended Sodermalm as hipster Stockholm so I’ll give it a try. One thing intrigues me;…
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Another day, another trip … Turku
Today was drizzling in Helsinki but I caught the train to Turku where the sun was shining and it was beautifully warm. Shirt sleeve weather. This is the ancient capital of Finland and major city when it was ruled by Sweden. It is the oldest city in Finland but little if the ancient city survived…
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Catching the bus to Lammassaari for a country walk
I decided to get out of the city for a little and enjoy some country air. Lammassaari is an island nature reserve a twenty minute bus ride from Helsinki city centre. So I put on my boots and my new Estonian socks and headed out. It was easy to get to in the 71 bus…
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Telliskivi graffiti and more
I visited this wonderful boho and bougie area this afternoon. It’s really great … cool and upbeat. It was a former industrial complex and now is home to art galleries, restaurants, a world beating photographic museum, a container hotel and many independent shops and bars. A great place to wander and have a coffee and…
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A museum for everything … some x-rated … be warned
KGB headquarters… very chilling stories Prostitution display at Tallin City Museum
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A morning in Tallinn
The tourists have arrived in force as the cruise ships are docking this morning. Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, German and many Americans. Question asked in Tourist Information; “ what can I see in the city in two hours? I have to be back on the ship.” Hansa trading city Tallinn has a fascinating history. The…
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A night out
Last night “the girls” took me out for an evening at Helsinki’s evening festival. I had first met them on my language course in Florence. They were so welcoming to a random stranger and during the past couple of days had kept me posted with interesting things to see in Helsinki. I didn’t feel such…
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A trip to Suomenlinna on the ferry
Suomenlinna is a fortress on a group of islands just off Helsinki built when Finland was ruled by Sweden. Building started in 1748 and it served as a navel base during the Swedish War with Russia. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site it’s a beautiful place to wander and take in the Baltic Sea and…
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In Helsinki
I e arrived in Helsinki. Bustling and interesting. I’m loving some of the Victorian and thirties architecture. It’s hot and sunny … 24 degrees. I e booked into the hostel and found my bunk … it seems fine. It’s A very boho neighbourhood near the city centre surrounded by cool bars. I’ll go out exploring…
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Leaving for home! But before I leave a visit to Musee Carnavalet
Well I start my last day in Europe before I leave for London this afternoon. before I go I’m going to visit an exhibition of Philippe Starck the designer at the Carnavalet Museum nearby.. the whole experience has been wonderful. The first couple of days in Paris was lovely and I enjoyed renewing my acquaintance…
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Saint Germain des Pres and l’Odeon
This afternoon Cedric and I had ananother wandering tour of Paris around the 6eme … Saint Germain des Pres and L’Odeon. A bougie area very different from the boho vibe of the 4eme. We did a little shopping at Courreges where we both bought something a little extravagant … then to Hermes and to La…
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I’ve arrived in Paris
After a long and arduous, not to say tedious but exciting, journey I finally arrived in Paris at 2.30am, four hours late because a demonstration on the railway line. Apparently something to do with building a railway line through the mountains. Never mind I’m here and of course when I got to my hotel there…
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Not ready to leave
I have packed and am ready to leave. I really loved it here and will miss Cristina and her family. It’s been one of the best experiences I have ever had. Breakfast on the terrace with the smell of flower and the sound of the swallows in the sunshine I shall always remember and the…
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The afternoon tour
This afternoon our tour with the lovely Maurizio took us to the 13th century church of Santa Maria Novella. Not necessarily beautiful architecturally though it was interesting. A large church it’s principal interest lay in the wonderful frescoes in the Tornabuoni chapel by Ghirlandaio from the late 15th century and those earlier frescoes in another…
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A visit to the Museo del Duomo e La Battisteria
This morning I awoke a little later than usual. I didn’t realise how tired I was. I had booked tickets for the museum and the Baptistery as the weekend is free. It’s a little drizzly today but very warm. The museum is excellent. To preserve them many of the original sculptures together with Ghiberti’s fabulous…
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An Italian evening
Yesterday evening I had a nice surprise. Cristina had invited two of her friends to meet me. We had dinner together and I tried to drag my Italian together and have a conversation. Luckily they spoke good English too. They corrected me when I was wrong which was very helpful. They were very welcoming and…
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Pomeriggio a L’ospidale degli Innocenti
This afternoon we had a wonderful afternoon at the Ospidale. A very beautiful renaissance building by Brunelleschi. It was a fascinating place founded by the guild of silk makers in the fifteenth century as a place where women who were poor, prositutes and abandoned children could be left to be cared for by the church.…
Escape to myself 