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,…
Category: Europe
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…
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…
Chatsworth: A day out at a Derbyshire country house
It must be tough being a duke. There’s the grand country house to call home, no end of properties to rent out to the peasantry, stunning artworks to hang from the walls, acres of land to farm and gardens to landscape. Chatsworth, the spectacular Derbyshire estate of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, has all…
A day out in Concarneau, Brittany
Sardines are the food of the gods. And Brittany is one of the best places to eat them. In the fishing port and seaside town of Concarneau, I lunched on a plate of them accompanied by a glass of fine Breton cider. Lunch really couldn’t get better than that. It was spring and we were sitting…
Polesden Lacey – in the heart of the Surrey Hills
I’ll come out of the closet and admit to being a fan of country houses. I always have been. So it’s not just grannies who spend their leisure time nosing around mansions and palaces. Deep in the Surrey hills is a house with beautiful views and real style, now in the possession of the National…
Verona: A city with a view
I’ve never been a fan of Shakespeare, nor have I immersed myself in his Romeo and Juliet. Verona is the home of the lovers and the Montagues and Capulets, and the city milks it to death. Tourists descend in their thousands on Juliet’s balcony and tomb, and a bust of Shakespeare is on show in…
Verona: A Roman survivor
Italy may change but some things remain resolutely the same. The food is great, the architecture is awe-inspiring and the locals can’t resist a shiny puffer jacket. On our first evening in Verona, nursing a beer in a touristy but quiet bar in the Piazza Bra, there were plenty of puffer jackets on display. Veronese and…