GALLIPOLI The second part of the Türkiye experience was a trip across to Izmir that I was able to achieve by doing a 3 day tour covering Gallipoli, Troy and Ephesus. I’m not huge on fine print or details so what I was unaware of were the other great places the tour covered including theContinue reading “Turkey part 2: Gallipoli – Unwilling Enemies”
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Turkey part 1: Istanbul – A confusion of East and West
ISTANBUL My preconceptions of Türkiye were not dissimilar to those of Morocco – dangerous, fundamentalist, crazy. Well, one of three were right – it is crazy. Istanbul was the first stop and my first impressions were that of my hotel transfer mode of transport. I can only describe it as an ex-drug dealers van allContinue reading “Turkey part 1: Istanbul – A confusion of East and West”
Norway 2024 – Nice Place To Visit ;-)
BERGENSBANEN – OSLO TO BERGEN TRAIN With all the travel I have and will be doing it is a pretty sure thing that there will be some flight delays/cancellations etc. Well, it was now that it would happen. I was due to fly from Florence to Oslo but in two legs with a small changeContinue reading “Norway 2024 – Nice Place To Visit ;-)”
Tuscany, Italy – Just Sit Back and Relax
PISA My aim with Italy was to get smaller towns in Tuscany and avoid the larger cities. Therefore, Pisa was merely a stopover. In saying that I managed to get a hotel – or more accurately, a dog kennel – that was right across the road from Piazza die Miracoli which is home to numbersContinue reading “Tuscany, Italy – Just Sit Back and Relax”
Wales – Not As Welsh As I Thought
My preconception of Wales was that of an old country, a bit hard and tough from their coal mining history, extremely patriotic and the all have THE most amazing singing voices. And of course the accent. Like the Irish they speak with the most magical melodic accent, well except for the guttural LL sound whichContinue reading “Wales – Not As Welsh As I Thought”
The Balkans part 4: Croatia – A Natural Gem
ZAGREB & PLITVICE LAKES We arrived in Zagreb early in the morning after a hideously early start in London. We weren’t joining the group until the evening so we wandered around the city. Quite nice old part of the city but we did discover that very little is open on a Sunday. As a citizenContinue reading “The Balkans part 4: Croatia – A Natural Gem”
The Balkans part 3: Sarajevo – A City Under Siege
One of the main reasons I was interested in the tour we took was the focus on the 1992-95 war while we were in Sarajevo. We were extremely fortunate enough to be guided around by a veteran of that war and the siege of Sarajevo. What follows are my take on it all and someContinue reading “The Balkans part 3: Sarajevo – A City Under Siege”
The Balkans part 2: Bosnia & Herzegovina – A Tortured Beauty?
Back in 1984 Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympics and it was a great success. During the war the infrastructure was severely damaged and today it has been left damaged and abandoned. However, the part ruined concrete structure of the bob sled track has been graffitied with some pretty cool art. And what is really coolContinue reading “The Balkans part 2: Bosnia & Herzegovina – A Tortured Beauty?”
The Balkans part 1: Montenegro – Monaco of the Adriatic?
The Balkans trip offered so much in 3 different countries I thought it better to divide the blog into countries but also to cover the war in Bosnia in a separate blog. Hope that works. KOTOR Set on the Gulf of Kotor this old city has so much going for it. The walled city wasContinue reading “The Balkans part 1: Montenegro – Monaco of the Adriatic?”
Ireland – At least they have good craic
Well what can I say – wet, windy and bloody cold. Lived up to all expectations unfortunately. But…through all of that I can still see that it is a very grand country. Bear with me, the next bit of verbiage is important. The history of Ireland as far as I can make out is asContinue reading “Ireland – At least they have good craic”
Altamira Sound & Vision Productions 