a journey of new beginnings
The colourful façades of Copenhagen’s fairy-tale buildings slowly give way to a row of crumbling shacks adorned with psychedelic graffiti. The area is deprived and the unmistakeable scent of marijuana perfumes the air. Clearly we are close.
My companion is …
Whether Christmas is best celebrated in a warm climate or cold climate is a topic often discussed by travellers. The opinions of most tend to depend heavily upon where that traveller was raised. It is understandable that Christmas to an …
What do you do if you are very hungry on a Sunday morning in Stockholm, and have a craving for American pancakes?
Let me give you some advice for if you ever find yourself in this situation; head to Arizona …
While looking through my photographs in order to participate in this week’s #FriFotos, which has the theme of ‘Peaks’, I realised something.
I have not spent nearly enough time in the mountains.
I love mountains, but tend to migrate more …
I didn’t expect to like Bucharest.
It’s not that I’ve heard bad things about it; but it rarely, if ever, features on ‘Europe’s Best City’ lists.
I was merely going to visit a friend, and just happened to be adding …
When you think about Romania, what do you think of? Ugly communist buildings? Shaven-headed children in run-down orphanages? Oppressed people ruled by a tyrannical megalomaniac?
Or do you think of jagged mountain peaks, lush pine forests, pretty medieval towns, …
If you read my last Romania post ‘Dracula: Romania’s National Hero’, you will already realise that finding Dracula was high on my agenda when I visited Romania, but it didn’t take long for me to realise that he …
All Saints’ Day is an official holiday in Sweden that usually falls on the first Saturday in November. On this weekend, many businesses close early on Friday, remaining closed on Saturday. This means that people who want to buy their …
Most people know that I have two passions: travel and literature. Those who know me really well know that I am somewhat of a gothic aficionado when it comes to books. I read Dracula many, many, years ago and, more …
If you have spent any time in Europe then you will almost certainly have heard of Ryanair. Irish-owned airline Ryanair is the marmite of the skies: you either love them or hate them. Most people fall into the latter category, …
I’m a grounded traveller.
I feel like a bird without wings; a car without an engine; a boat without a sail—you get the picture.
I came back from my last trip 7 months ago, after plans didn’t quite work out …
If you look at some of my favourite books, you will notice a theme: journeys and adventures. As a child I loved Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books, later it was Lord of the Rings and Heart of Darkness. My favourite …
When I first started travelling I was impressed every time I walked into a new hostel. (Most) hostels have a nice friendly ambience: you are welcomed at the reception by well-travelled and informative hosts, the kitchen is full of laughing …
I haven’t posted a #FriFotos post for a while but I simply couldn’t resist this week’s theme of ‘windows. Windows intrigue me. I always wonder who is on the other side looking out, or looking in. What events have been …
I lived in Tokyo for a year between August 2002 and August 2003 and I can’t believe that it was ten years ago. I had barely used email before I left for Japan, and I had never heard of blogging—but …
“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars” J.R.R. Tolkien, ‘The Lord of the Rings’
The Atacama Desert in the north of Chile is the world’s driest desert. Some parts of the desert have never recorded rainfall. It is a …
In my last post I made the shocking confession that I prefer South American food over South East Asian food. Many people can’t understand why the thought of Pad Thai or Pho sends me into a cold sweat, as Thai …
South America and South East Asia are both very popular tourist destinations, but unless you are on a RTW trip you are probably going to have to choose one region or the other. Having spent the first decade of my …
When this week’s #FriFotos theme of Brands was initially revealed on Tuesday I did not expect to take part, as I don’t consider myself much of a brand follower.
I would not be able to tell the difference between a …
Rather than flowing over the top of the British Isles as usual, the Jet Stream’s current positioning to the South has brought the rainiest summer that the United Kingdom has had in decades (and let’s face it we normally get …