On our recent visit to Paris much of the time we simply walked. With no need to tick off the famous sights we instead strolled some of our favourite streets, explored new ones and checked out some less well-known places.
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It’s August, so where better place to be than the English seaside? Although truth be told I like our coastal areas much more in the winter months and maybe even more so in spring and autumn.
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When I first started visiting in the early 1980s Newcastle did seem like a city in black and white. Once a great industrial hub it had been hard hit by the closure of the shipyards and coal mines of the region.
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Autolycus is a peddler and pickpocket. No one’s possessions are safe when he is around! But what he regards as ‘unconsidered trifles’ may be of great importance to their owner. In the same way what many might see and dismiss as insignificant, a photographer may spot and deem worthy of an image. A photographer too therefore is often a ‘snapper-up of unconsidered trifles’.
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There is something very intriguing about ferns. Almost prehistoric in nature, it is easy when among them to imagine dinosaurs walking the earth. Unsurprising perhaps, as these often-beautiful plants actually predate those dinosaurs!
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Welcome to the ‘strange’ world of northern Norway, where June feels more like January in London and where the photographic rewards are great if you’re happy to brave the chilly fingers needed to press the shutter!
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Much of the Norwegian landscape looked a little unreal to me even in its natural colours. The drama of its mountains, the almost eerie light around midnight, even the snow and rain. All these lent it a magical air.
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When I visited Lviv in 2010 I described it on my Virtual Tourist page as a beautiful city ‘waiting in the wings’. By this I meant that it was ripe for tourism but hadn’t yet been discovered by the masses, nor did it yet have the infrastructure to deal with them. What it did have was beautiful churches with elaborate interiors; a lovely main square surrounded by historic townhouses; broad avenues and narrow winding streets; quirky cafés, a striking opera house and monuments of all kinds and styles.
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There have been many times when travelling that I’ve stared up at some steps. I’m not the best at climbing stairs, but the incentives to do so are often great. A wonderful view, an interesting building, a slice of history … Any of these is likely to entice me to climb.
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One thing that struck me almost immediately about Tirana was its relaxed vibe. Probably because it was a holiday weekend (Orthodox Easter), the cafés and bars were all busy. People were out strolling the streets, meeting friends, enjoying the spring sunshine. As were we!
