Via Appia Antica | Rome
The peculiar nature of Rome is that it hides its history in plain sight. This is not an intentional thing, but rather an accident of that history. Rome – the city, as well as the city state that became Italy … Continued
This Norwegian Story | Oslo
The air temperature is close to -10oC, so sitting on the deck of a boat for 4 hours ensures you feel the chill leaching into your bones. As the sun tries to break through the cloud it creates wonderful slashes … Continued
Staring Down A Mountain | Mt Vesuvius, Naples
You don’t ever seem to really leave Naples, the names just change. These names that were once distinct and separate towns and settlements have now melded into one, as if they are the mud and magma rivulets that flow down … Continued
A Place of Savage and Violent History | Pompeii & Herculaneum
A shaft of light shines on the floor, the beam borne stronger as it passes through the heated mist of steam rising from the baths, seemingly from the very pores of the room. The voices of the bathers form a … Continued
A Promenade, a Signpost, a Laundromat | Varanasi, India
Let’s start with the dead body, and work backwards. A 4 x 4 drives towards us, this cold morning. Dark,anonymous, it takes up more room than it should on the road. We are forced to the left, not forced … Continued
The Fog Rolls Back In | India
The seat belt sign is on, and the air crew have been told to buckle up for landing. As the plane descends through cloud, I am looking through the windows to see my first glimpse of Delhi, India covered … Continued
Standing on the Charles Bridge | Prague, Czech Republic
Stand on the Charles Bridge (Karluv most) in Prague, and you can feel like you are in a gothic fairy tale – spires and domes surround you, the cold cuts through, the Vltava river flows beneath. The bridge itself … Continued
Without Riding the Zebra | Fete du Panier, Marseille
We see two fights on the streets of Marseille in two days, an alarming regularity that has me wondering whether the combatants are in fact just violent street performers, putting on a scheduled show. Some say that this violence resonates … Continued
Filopappou | Athens, Greece
Your feet kick up the vestiges of antiquity on the dusty walking track. The ground is hard and dry – the day has warmed up, but we are shaded by the pines. There are great vistas between the trees … Continued
Feuerwerk! | Berlin, Germany
Berlin’s appeal is not obvious. It can feel grey, unwelcoming. Streets full of apartment blocks built in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s; awash with autumnal debris in what should be the depths of winter. A cold wind. It feels … Continued