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 back at the turn of the millennium had been pretty negative. It was dirty, the roads were appalling, the driving worse and there was an undercurrent of menace to the place. In some respects, it felt more like a Third World city…
Visiting the Desert Castles of Jordan
On our two-week visit to Jordan, we took a tour of the Desert Castles that lie on the arid plains to the east of the capital, Amman. The weather was bleak as we hit the highway out of the city, fresh from a night in the swanky Marriott hotel. There, I’d settled into the bar and…
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 in 2011 coincided with one of the hottest Septembers in years and it was another magical…
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 in the world that sits astride Europe and Asia. Just a few months after we visited Istanbul in 2013, it was gripped by the worst riots in years. Historic Sultanahmet escaped…