On the tiles in Iznik
Located next to a large lake – Iznik Gol – and formerly a capital of the Byzantines, Iznik still marinades in memories of its glory days. Under the Ottomans, it […]
Handmade Houses and Voivodes in Yenisehir
It’s always a bad idea to call anything the new one. ‘New’ castle is about a thousand years old now, and the one it presumably replaced shortly after the Norman […]
The Northumberland Castle Trail
There are castles strewn across the British countryside, but for my money those in Northumberland cannot be beaten for sheer beauty and romance. I recently spent a full day exploring […]
William Morris – Retro by Design
Looking for somewhere interesting to take my parents last week during one of their increasingly infrequent visits, I discovered a real gem just twenty minutes by car from here. I […]
Golems and Magic in Prague
Prague for me has always been more of a city of the imagination than a real place. Real places tend to disappoint, especially if you spent your impressionable teenage years […]
Coffees and Schnitzels in Vienna
Although to the Ottomans, who failed to conquer the city in 1529, Vienna was known as the Golden Apple, to me it resembles more a huge wedding cake with lots […]
Conspicuous consumption in the Vatican
‘If you can’t find it, it’s probably in the Vatican’. That’s what they jokingly say in Rome, and walking through those seemingly endless corridors all stuffed with priceless treasures you […]
A brush with Caravaggio and Raphael
The Church of St Louis of the French, built between 1550 and 1568, is a rather nondescript building just around the corner from the Pantheon. I would have completely missed […]
TB or not TB – Keats in Rome
Let me confess straight off that Keats is my favourite Romantic poet. This despite being made to study him at school, which is usually a killer for just about any […]
Mehitabel and Warty Bliggins on the Roman Wall
They say that as you grow older you start hankering after your home region, and in fact many of my friends have relocated back to the North East of England. […]
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