Exploring the world, one place at a time
When I asked one of my Paris-based friends what I should do in the city, the first thing she said was go to the Fondation Louis Vuitton. So after my morning visiting the Musée de l'Orangerie and over-indulging at Angelina, I hopped on the Metro to the Bois de Boulogne on the Western edge of... Continue Reading →
If you're planning a Monet-themed weekend in the French capital, then the Musée de l'Orangerie on the edge of the Jardin des Tuileries is a must. The small museum is home to eight of the most impressive of Claude Monet's series of Nymphéas (or Water Lilies) paintings. The Impressionist artist spent three decades working 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 →
A bustling, vibrant capital city that's home to more than one million people, Amman is a modern metropolis with ancient roots, having been inhabited in some form or another for millennia. Its former incarnations include Ammon, the capital of the Ammonite people during Biblical times, and the Greek and Roman city of Philadelphia. And it's where... Continue Reading →
According to the Bible, Jordan's Mount Nebo is the place from which Moses saw the Promised Land right before he died. The mountain, which overlooks the Dead Sea, is today home to the prophet's purported grave, as well as a church and a small museum. It was bright and early when we arrived atop Mount... Continue Reading →
Last year marked 50 years since The Royal Mint moved to Llantrisant, a small town in south Wales to the north-west of Cardiff, and two years since its visitor experience opened its doors. The Royal Mint Experience consists of a 45-minute guided tour, which includes a look inside the factory where the coins are minted,... Continue Reading →
Following my week-long sojourn in Béarn, I headed north-west to Bordeaux for a whistle-stop 21-hour tour of France's ninth biggest city. It was almost 4pm by the time I arrived in Bordeaux and checked into my hotel near the city's central railway station, the Gare Saint-Jean. Having dumped my stuff in my room, I set... Continue Reading →
Nestled at the foot of the Pyrenees, Lourdes is France's most famous pilgrimage site. Having been to Santiago de Compostela in Spain some eight years ago, I was keen to visit Lourdes during our trip to Béarn to compare the two sites and to find out why this Pyrenean town attracts some five million Christian... Continue Reading →
When I think of Bilbao, the first place that springs to mind is the Guggenheim Museum, the Frank Gehry-designed curved titanium and glass behemoth that put the Basque capital firmly on the international art map in the late 1990s. But there's much, much more to the city than its most iconic building. I recently spent... Continue Reading →
When I was in London a couple of weekends ago, I was looking for an exhibition to see and, while there weren't many that grabbed my fancy, Azzedina Alaïa: The Couturier at the Design Museum looked intriguing. I might not be a fashionista, but I enjoy fashion and am familiar with Azzedine Alaïa's work, and was curious... Continue Reading →
Little Old World 