Researching my family tree, I was keen to find out more about Great Uncle Raymond Finch. A bomber pilot, he was killed over Brittany in the Second World War and I wanted to pay my respects at his grave in a quiet French village. I’d long known that he’d been killed in the war but…
Month: September 2013
A few days in Naples, Italy
Naples is the gateway to southern Italy but my first experience of it was overwhelmingly negative, for it had been like stepping into the third world. Years later, with Graham in tow, I still found it challenging but warmed slowly to its charms. That first visit to Naples back in the early noughties was nothing more…
Visiting the Desert Castles of Jordan
On our two-week visit to Jordan, we took a tour of the Desert Castles that lie to the east of the capital, Amman. And poor Graham coped remarkably well bearing in mind he had a stomach bug. The weather was bleak as we hit the highway out of the city, fresh from a night in the…
A trip on the Napa Valley Wine Train in California
We couldn’t go to San Francisco without visiting wine country for a day. But not wanting to drive, and on the recommendation of a friend, we opted for lunch on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Our week in San Francisco coincided with one of the hottest Septembers in years and so it was another magical and…
Istanbul: A long weekend in Sultanahmet
Sultanahmet is the historic heart of Istanbul, the most famous of Turkey’s cities. It may not be the capital but it’s the only city that sits astride Europe and Asia. Just a few months after we visited Istanbul, it was gripped by the worst riots in years. But it seems that historic Sultanahmet escaped the…