Category Archives: Europe

À la recherche du bar perdu.

Posted on 13/11/2019 by awtytravels

There was a bar, once. A weekend away with friends. An April escapade with mates from high school, an occasion to appreciate how much we’ve grown – cancel that, how much we’ve aged in the last years. There were calls to girlfriends, … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Portugal | Tagged Ascensor da bica, Bairro Alto, Bar, Beer, Bica, Brazil, Drugs, Europe, Intendente, Lisbon, Music, Night, Night time, Portugal, Samba | 20 Comments

I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me to see me looking back at you.

Posted on 16/10/2019 by awtytravels

Grounded. I guess you can say this is my status at the moment. A new job with no duty travel means not many occasions to fly the nest. All there is left to do, then, is to polish up your … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, UK | Tagged 3D, Avocado, Book, Canal, Cyclists, Dal Naja, Dirt, Dog, East London, Edgy, Editor, Europe, Evening Standard, Fixie, Grand Union, Grounded, Hackney, Hipster, Islam, Literary agent, London, Massive Attack, Murales, New Job, Niqab, Old street, People, People watching, Photography, Represent, Restaurant, Safe from Harm, seagull, Shoreditch, Silicon Roundabout, Software, Spray paint, Street photography, Tech, Tech boys, Tourism, Tricky, UK, Urban photography | 28 Comments

Travels in Italy’s 11th most-visited region.

Posted on 06/10/2019 by awtytravels

There are twenty regions in Italy (or perhaps it’s only 19; Molise’s existence, much like dark matter, is still a matter for debate); together in 2018 they hosted a whopping 429 million tourists, half of them foreigners (of whom at … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Italy, Piemonte | Tagged Alba, Alps, Art, Asti, Autumn, Barbaresco, Barbera, Barolo, Belvedere, Beppe Fenoglio, Biella, Cattle, Cuneo, DOC, DOCG, Dogliani, Europe, Granda, Hills, Horse, horses, Italia, Italy, La Morra, Langhe, Llama, Mare, Modern Art, Monforte d'Alba, Montezemolo, Mountains, Occitania, Piedmont, Piemont, Piemonte, Prealps, Roero, Stallion, Torino, Tourism, Turin, Wine, Winery | 17 Comments

The quest for the best road.

Posted on 01/05/2019 by awtytravels

There are countless articles singing the virtues of this or that stretch of road, claiming it to be “the best in the UK/Europe/world” (delete as applicable). So what’s the point in writing another one? What’s the use of increasing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Iceland | Tagged Ólafsvík, Borgarnes, Creedence, DJ Krush, El Búho, Eldborg, Europe, Fortress of Fire, Grundarfjörður, Iceland, Icelandic horse, Kirkjufell, Music, Road, Road Trip, Route 54, Route 56, Route 574, Saxhóll, Sea, Snæfellsnes, Snow, Stykkishólmur, Suzuki Vitara, Tourism, Travel, Video, Vitara, Volcano, Winter, Xica Xica, Ytri-Tunga | 26 Comments

The worst-named animal in the world.

Posted on 19/04/2019 by awtytravels

As far as names are concerned, few animals have had it as bad as the Orca. Popularly known as “killer whale” – a connotative appellative if ever there was one – they don’t fare much better from a scientific point … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Iceland | Tagged Ólafsvík, Blackfish, Calf, environment, Europe, Fishing, Fjord, Herring, Iceland, Killer whale, Láki, Láki tours, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Matriarchy, Mountains, North Sea, Orca watching, Orcas, Orcinus orca, Photography, Sea, seagull, Snæfellsnes, Snow, Tourism, Travel, Trawler, Westfjord, Whale, Whale watching | 26 Comments

Grundarfjörður.

Posted on 13/04/2019 by awtytravels

Iceland doesn’t score very high in terms of cityscapes. Granted, there are corners of beauty peppered here and there in Reykjavik but there’s no denying that, besides those exceptions, towns and villages all around this island have a utilitarian air. … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Iceland | Tagged Aurora, Europe, Fjord, Grundarfjörður, Harbour, Iceland, Island, Kirkjufell, Light, Lights, Mountains, Night, People, Photography, Snow, Stargazing, Stars, Street photography, Trails, Travel, Winter | 17 Comments

Snæfellsnes wide-angle.

Posted on 07/04/2019 by awtytravels

The 9-18mm lenses I’ve just bought are, in the words of the photographer who won the chance of endorsing them, “perfect for panoramas”. In a rare astronomical conjunction where marketing met reality and they both shook hands with user requirements … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Iceland | Tagged 9-18mm, Ari Þorgilsson, Íslendigabók, Ólafsvík, Búðir, Beach, Columbus, Cristopher Columbus, Europe, Grundarfjörður, Guðriður, Guðriður Þorbjarnardóttir, Hellissandur, Iceland, Ingjaldshóll, Island, Kirkjufell, Laugarsbrekka, Lýsudalur, Mountain, nature, Neil Young, Olympus, Panorama, Photography, Sea, Sky, Snæfellsnes, Snow, Víðförla, Wide angle | 24 Comments

The first globe-trotter.

Posted on 01/04/2019 by awtytravels

We live in an age where travel is becoming a commodity. £300 return fares, London-New York, non-stop. £60 tickets for the train to Paris. Competition has brought low fares and low fares have shrunk the world: the jet set is … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Iceland | Tagged Þorfinnur, Þorfinnur Karlsefni, Þorstein, Canada, Christianity, Drakkar, Eirik, Eirik the Red, Far travelled, First Nations, First white, Globe Trotter, Greenland, Guðriður, Guðriður Þorbjarnardóttir, Iceland, Laugarbrekka, Leif Eiriksson, Leifur, Middle Age, Norway, Nun, Pilgrimage, Pope, Rome, Saga, Sailing, Ship, Snæfellsnes, Snorri, Travel, Traveller, Víðförla, Viking, Vinland, Well travelled, X century, XI century | 27 Comments

Der Himmel Über London.

Posted on 16/03/2019 by awtytravels

The sky at night over London is alive. Perhaps not with immortal angels listening in to the thoughts of those down below but very much alive it is. A camera, a tripod and an Internet forum thread with tips on … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, UK | Tagged Aeroplanes, Airline, Airliners, Airplanes, Beacons, Dawn, Dusk, England, Europe, Flying, Landing, Landing lights, Lights in the sky, London, Long exposure, Night, Night photography, Olympus, Planes, Satellite, Stargazing, Stars, Take off, Trails, Tripod photography, UK | 19 Comments

Beyoğlu’s resilience.

Posted on 09/03/2019 by awtytravels

I’ve since long harboured the dream of having – or, more modestly, staying at – a house on the Bosporus. Something with balconies abutting the waterfront, or perhaps a terrace with a view of the passing ships, a bottle of … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Turkey | Tagged B&W, Beyoglu, Beşiktaş, Bukowski, Busker, Colour, Dolmabahçe, Europe, Galata, Galata tower, Genoa, Greatest show, Istanbu, Istiklal Caddesi, Karaköy, Music, No ticket, People, People watching, Pera, Police, Turkey, Turks, Vodafone arena, Water cannon | 19 Comments