We’re no strangers to the Canaries. They’re the default, value-for-money option when it comes to escaping the drab, damp days of winter in London. We’d plumped this time for the northern resort town of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife rather than Gran Canaria. It was my first time on the island, Graham’s second. The…
Author: Stephen
Going weird: The ossuary at Kutna Hora
I’ve been around a bit and seen some weird and wonderful things. But the Sedlec Ossuary at Kutna Hora, deep in the Czech Republic, has to rank as one of the strangest. For those who don’t know, an ossuary is a resting place for human skeletons. At Kutna Hora, which we found about an hour outside…
Brittany: The stones of Carnac
I’m sure the beach at Carnac is one of the best in Brittany. Long and sandy, protected by dunes, overlooked by some handsome homes and towering trees, it promises much. But during our June stay it rained, and rained again. And when it didn’t rain, the wind blew and the clouds blocked out the sun….
Zurich: Churches and gardens
It was our final day in Zurich and raining again. But we filled it by exploring chilly churches and tropical palm houses. I slept late so we dispensed with breakfast and got ready to check out of the Hotel Europe – a lovely place with charming hosts but somewhat lacking in very necessary double glazing. A…
Zurich: Exploring Uetliberg
Sunday dawned bright and sunny in Zurich, a perfect day for visiting the city’s mountain. I’d slept poorly thanks to the people upstairs crashing around at 4.30am, the wailing of police sirens at some point in the night and the crunching of a dustcart at dawn. So I didn’t have the energy to climb up Uetliberg,…
Zurich: Visiting museums in the rain
We’d hoped to see Zurich draped in snow, looking romantic and seasonal, during a January city break but a warm winter at home and abroad meant we were destined to be disappointed. When we arrived on the first day of the new year, it was dark, damp and mild, with not a flake of snow…
Alcatraz
Some tourist attractions are a class act while others really manage to screw up the experience. Alcatraz in San Francisco may be a tourist trap but it’s a winner from start to finish. It’s deluged with humanity, which is ironic for a place that many tried to flee during its time as a military prison…
Seville: From the cathedral to the river
As a young and angelic choirboy in the early 1970s I sang every week to the glory of God at St John’s Church in Caterham. But the experience never left me with a lasting faith. Listening to Canon Vile droning on from the pulpit, the endless hours of practice and the weekly Sunday school visits resulted in a…
Seville: Noble homes and spectacular plazas
Picking a good hotel is all about research and we’re in the habit of choosing some great ones. The Palacio de Villapanes ranks among them. Once the home of a noble Seville family, it boasts luxury bedding, great service and fancy design. A giant coat of arms on the grand marble staircase is one of the…
Seville: The Alcazar and the Metropol Parasol
On days when the news is dominated by atrocities and stories of hate, I find it good for the soul to go to somewhere like the Alcazar in Seville. It is a place of beauty, the work of generations of craftsmen and visionaries from many races and religions. It was our first full day in Andalusia,…
The palace and monastery of El Escorial
Madrid is such a great city that it’s tempting to spend an entire visit deep in its wonderfulness. There’s so much going on, so much of a buzz and so much to see. But with our love of a good palace, we just had to visit El Escorial. The complex, which was both a palace and monastery,…
Croatia: A day trip to the island of Lopud
There are something like 1,000 islands along the Croatian coast. Lopud is one, part of the Elaphiti Islands chain that lies just a few miles from the city of Dubrovnik. Its main attraction in rocky Croatia is its sandy beaches. During our stay in the beachside suburb of Lapad we couldn’t avoid the touts trying to tempt…
Croatia: By the Adriatic at Lapad
Croatia has a memorable coastline. It’s jagged, scarred and never dull. Hundreds of islands of all shapes and sizes, covered in greenery, lie amid the sapphire blue of the Adriatic sea, some inhabited, some deserted. From thousands of feet up in our Monarch aircraft, I watched the islands float by. The sea looked as flat as…
Croatia: Joining the crowds in the city of Dubrovnik
The admirers of cliche tell us that travel broadens the mind. But it’s also a curse. There are times when we, as tourists, threaten to overwhelm and destroy the very destinations we’ve travelled so far to see. Dubrovnik’s old town is but one example. Croatia’s most popular destination, it’s a city under seige from swarms…
Bakewell, tarts and a walk in Dovedale
Bakewell is famous for its sweet and tasty tarts as well as being the gateway to the Peak District National Park. Fresh from our day in the rain at Chatsworth, we booked into our hotel in the village, enjoyed a night of great French food at Piedaniel’s and drank far too many bottles of Prosecco. Fortunately…