Exploring the world, one place at a time
We started our first full day in Venice by exploring the canals near our hotel in the Cannaregio district, snaking our way over the bridges and along the deserted canals, while soaking up the area's eerie stillness. As we got closer to the Rialto district and the Grand Canal (below), the city, unsurprisingly, became increasingly... Continue Reading →
Over the summer I was working at the National Eisteddfod, the annual Welsh cultural festival that this year took place near Tregaron in west Wales. Deciding to make something of a weekend of it before I started work, I stopped off at Llandeilo in the neighbouring county of Carmarthenshire so I could spend a couple... Continue Reading →
Chic, laid-back, friendly, welcoming and playful are just some of the words I'd use to describe the historic French city of Nantes. The former capital of Brittany (it's called Naoned in Breton) has been dubbed the 'city of the dukes of Brittany'. Even though it hasn't been part of Brittany since the Second World War... Continue Reading →
The sleepy, unassuming Breton village of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray is the unlikely home of one of France's most significant pilgrimmage sites. On driving into Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, it seemed like any other quiet village in the Morbihan countryside – until, that is, we came upon the massive basilica that dominates its centre. Sainte-Anne-d'Auray's claim to religious fame dates back... Continue Reading →
When Benjamin Franklin set foot on French soil in December 1776 to seek support in the American War of Independence, he came ashore in the tiny Breton port of Saint Goustan. Situated on the banks of the River Loch, adjoining the town of Auray, Saint Goustan is a delightful, picturesque affair. With a cobbled quayside... Continue Reading →
The picturesque port of Roscoff on Brittany's northern coast is the perfect introduction to France's westernmost region. Famous for its pink onions (the Roscoff onion) and the Johnny Onions who cross the channel to sell them from their bicycles, Roscoff boasts elegant grey stone buildings, a lovely and unusual church, and a charming high street.... Continue Reading →
For the last two and a half years, I've had an ever-growing list of posts lingering in my drafts folder that I held off publishing while we were in the throes of the pandemic, and it's got to the point where I haven't been sure what to do with them as it's been so long.... Continue Reading →
Portugal's second city is the perfect place for a weekend break. Boasting interesting architecture, a maze of alleyways that are ripe for exploring, museums, parks, churches, and fantastic food, it's a great city in which to spend a long weekend. Not to mention there's an abundance of its most famous export – port – on... Continue Reading →
The pretty Norman village of Giverny is where the impressionist painter Claude Monet spent the last 40 years of his life, in a large, picturesque house not far from the banks of the River Seine, painting the water lilies in his Japanese garden. Having read about Giverny in a travel magazine, a few months before... Continue Reading →
One of two small islands in the middle of the Seine in Paris, the Ile de la Cité is the oldest part of the French capital. Settled in the 3rd century BC by the Celts, Paris's historic centre is home to Point Zero, the point from which all distances in France are measured. But it's... Continue Reading →
Little Old World 