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Category Archives: Europe
Ashes and blue skies: a Palermo travelogue.
Warm air rushes in to fill the plane. We disembark by row, adhering scrupulously to the new socially-distant orthodoxy, ditching jumpers and jackets as we do: summer might be a distant memory where we left off, washed away in the … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Italy, Sicilia
Tagged Bangla, Borgo Antico, Bread, Cathedral, Church, Duomo, Europe, Granita, Immigration, India, Italia, Italy, Kalsa, Koran, Maqueda, Market, Med, Mediterranean, Mosque, Old town, Palermo, Pane, Panelle, People, People watching, Qoran, Rubbish, Sea, Sicilia, Sicily, Ucciardone
30 Comments
Saving a corner of wilderness.
Regulars of this blog will know that I originally hail from NW Italy. I was born in Piedmont but spent a lot of time in neighbouring Val d’Aosta (also known as Almost Switzerland). A region of glaciers, woods, gurgling streams, … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Italy, Uncategorized, Val d'Aosta
Tagged Alps, Annamaria Gremmo, Aosta, Cime Bianche, Climate change, Conservation, Francesco Sisti, Italy, Last wild valley, Marco Soggetto, Mountains, Ski, Skiing, Val d'Aosta, Vallee d'Aoste, Vallone selvaggio, Wild, Wildlife
22 Comments
Postcards from the city at the edge of the island.
This place is ancient. Countless generations lived here; even more passed through. Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans. Then Vandals, Goths, the Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards. Germans and the Allied forces. All left a piece, a memento of their passage. This is … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Italy, Sicilia
Tagged Arabs, Buildings, Carthaginians, Cathedral, Europa, Europe, Goths, Greeks, hoenicians, Indulgence, Normans, Palermo, Post office, Postcards, Poste, Romans, Sicilia, Sicily, Spaniards, the Byzantines
14 Comments
Bushy Park.
South-west of Richmond, sandwiched between that florid neighbourhood, the equally affluent borough of Twickenham (Twickers for those in the know), and the considerably grittier Kingston is Bushy Park. I’ve lived in London for almost a decade, I’ve flown above it … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, UK
Tagged Airplanes, Animals, Antlers, Birds, Buck, Bushy Park, Coot, Crow, Deer, Duckling, Ducks, England, English countryside, Fern, Grass, Hawk, Kew, London, Oak, Parakeet, Parkland, Pond, Richmond, River, Royal Parks, Singapore Airlines, Starling, Swan, Thames, Trees, Twickenham, Twickers, Walk, West London
15 Comments
Locked down.
Day whatever of lockdown. As of this week we’ve moved from “Stay home” to “Stay alert”. Face masks may be worn in some shops and on public transport, but it’s only a suggestion. A fourteen-day quarantine for overseas travellers might … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, London, UK
Tagged Art, Boris, Bus stop, Coronavirus, Covid-19, Doors, Europe, Fiat 500, Holodomor, Hugh Grant, I worry for the NHS, Kids, Lockdown, London, Mask, Milk, Milkman, Monkey, NHS, Photos, Stay alert, UK, Urban photography, W3, W4, West London
32 Comments
無月
After ten years of repeating that Budapest had potential I arrived in town for a solo night – my first – to discover that, yes, the old gal has done it. Realising it, I mean. And ain’t that a surprise. … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Hungary
Tagged Bridges, Buda, Budapest, Citadella, Danube, Duna, Ernő Rubik, Erzsébetváros, Europe, Hungary, Magyar, Magyarorszag, Margit híd, Murales, Murals, Panning, Panning photos, Parliament, People, People watching, Pest, Photography, Street photography, TARDIS, Tram, Travel, VII Kerulet, Windows, Winter
33 Comments
Every day is Legs Day if you’re in Lisbon.
“Every day is Legs Day if you’re a dog” once said a philosophy-inclined former colleague of mine. For those of you not familiar with gym logic, he was referring to the fact that dogs, for obvious reasons, cannot skip training … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Portugal
Tagged Alfama, Azulejo, Bridge, Christ, Church, City, Clouds, Cobbles, Dog, Drizzle, Estuary, Every day is leg day, Hill, Hill climb, Intendente, Leg day, Lisboa, Lisbon, Miradouro, Nossa Senhora do Monte, Nova Goa, Port, Portugal, Rain, Rio, Santa Caterina, Sea, Ships, Sun, Suspension, Tagus, The Rock, Tram, Tram of Lisbon, Trekking, Uphill
33 Comments
Swindlers’ Market.
On a square dedicated to the saint patron of needleworkers and television, behind the convent sanctifying the memory of the protector of orphans and widows, Lisbon’s lady thieves are having their weekly gathering. Make of that what you wish. For … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Portugal
Tagged Antiques, Book, Church, Cloudy, Convent, Europe, Feira, Feira da Ladra, Flea Market, Food, La Tabernita, La Tabernita Lisboa, Lisboa, Lisbon, Lisbon Flea Market, Market, Morning, People, People watching, Photography, Portugal, Santa Clara, Sellers, Street photography, Sunday, Tourism, Travel, Urban photography
20 Comments
I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me to see me looking back at you.
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
