After a day of exploring Charleston’s historic heart it was time to drive into the countryside, to visit a couple of the plantations that helped the south so rich and so notorious for slavery. The road to Drayton Hall took us through industrial and nondescript suburbs, along dual carriageways lined with fast-food joints and out-of-town stores. Later…
Tag: City breaks
Exploring Charleston’s historic district
No matter what the time, it was hot and humid in Charleston. And with a belly full of food and booze from the night before, neither of us fancied a heavy breakfast. So we popped out for a quick coffee and a pastry at a local cafe instead, before going for a walk around Charleston’s…
Arriving in Charleston, South Carolina
The humidity in Charleston was like nothing I’d ever experienced, matched only by the intense heat. It fair took my breath away as we staggered out of the local airport under the weight of our luggage. It was there that we hired our car from the enthusiastic Rhonda of Avis, who worked incredibly hard and…
San Francisco: Cycling around Golden Gate Park
We never got round to crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on our visit to San Francisco, making do instead with a catamaran trip across the bay to the city’s finest landmark. However, we did cycle round the park that bears its name. Golden Gate Park is represented by a big green blob on maps of the…
Marrakech: Ruins and royal tombs
Our riad was a cosmopolitan place, home to holidaying Brits and Spaniards, Germans and Americans. So breakfast was taken to a background hum of languages and accents, all of which could also be heard on the vibrant streets of Marrakech. The city has become a popular holiday destination in North Africa, reasonably safe and with…
Marrakech: The lush Jardin Majorelle
Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent had a home in Marrakech for many years and, with his partner, helped restore a famous city garden. Our visit to the Jardin Majorelle turned out to be a highlight of our holiday. Located outside the old walls of the Medina, in the Ville Nouveau, we walked to the gardens one steamy morning…
Marrakech: A bizarre trip to Ouirgane
A trip to the village of Ouirgane, 60km or so south of Marrakech, was meant to be a reviving day in the hills and an opportunity to see a different side of Morocco. But it ended up being something of a trial. It started OK with us hiring a car in Marrakech’s European-looking new town….
Marrakech: A day of palaces and history
The call to prayer is one of the essential sounds of a stay in an Islamic country, and the first one of the day came at 5.30am or thereabouts. Some may find it annoying and curse the interruption of sleep, especially at the crack of dawn, but I’ve always found it romantic, reassuring and exotic. At…
Marrakech: Arriving at the Ksar Anika
Morocco looked hot from 35,000ft up. Blisteringly hot. I gazed down from the window of our British Airways A319 and saw reddish desert sands, dusty villages and little in the way of life. There was water – the sun’s blinding reflection proved it – but the artificial irrigation channels and anorexic streams didn’t look like much to…
Istanbul: A day in Yildiz Park and Ortakoi, and sailing on the Bosphorus
Istanbul is a city of Imperial Ottoman splendour with its fair share of handsome mansions, among them the waterfront Dolmabahce Palace. But when we arrived for a visit on the tram at nearby Kabatas, disappointment lurked in the form of a long, long and slow-moving queue at the palace ticket office. Pained by sunburn and…
In the heart of Tuscany – the city of Florence
It was inevitable that we’d end up in Italy’s most tourist-tastic region one day. Our excuse for the trip to Tuscany was a friend’s wedding in Pisa, but historic Florence was top of our list for a top en route. It turned out to be a city of crowds. Monumental crowds. It was a city…
A short break in the historic French city of Angers
Give me a good history book and a glass of wine and I’ll be a happy man. She-Wolves by Helen Castor turned out to be a particularly good read, the story of three of England’s great medieval queens and their various battles to make a mark in a male-dominated world. But it also introduced me…
A walk around Brooklyn
I’ve been drawn to Brooklyn on all my trips to New York City. I love its historic architecture, the quiet residential streets that stand in stark contrast to busy Manhattan and the excellent views of the city it offers from the waterfront. As one of NYC’s most exciting neighbourhoods, it also has some notable cultural…
A journey of discovery at Hong Kong’s history museum
Hong Kong’s Museum of History is a fantastic place to spend a couple of hours, learn about the territory’s past and kill time before the flight back home. It was our last day in the city, and one that dawned with us suffering the after effects of a marathon drinking session the night before. Fortunately the museum…
Hong Kong’s heritage in the New Territories
It would be easy to spend a holiday in Hong Kong and not venture beyond the Island or neighbouring Kowloon, but our Lonely Planet guide suggested a walk in the New Territories that would take us back in time. Half an hour away from our hotel on the efficient MTR railway lies the modern station…