Martin Luther said, 'For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. But while he makes a good point about the glories of nature, there are still times when we need a bit of bling in our lives. And now is probably one of those times!
-
-
Sometimes it seems as if Starbucks is taking over the world. Wherever we travel, apart from in North Korea of course, we come across branches of this ubiquitous chain. But we don't go in. Even at home it’s a place we choose to avoid, preferring to support our local independent coffee shops. And when we travel the same rule applies. Even in Seattle, the birthplace of Starbucks, we refused to visit the first ever branch in Pike Place.
-
A brief extract from one of my favourite poems by one of my favourite poets to introduce a gallery of burgundy-red images. Of course this colour takes its name from a red wine, the French Burgundy, but we might just as well use the name of any other red wine to describe it. Indeed, according to Wikipedia, the French themselves tend to instead call the colour Bordeaux!
-
When the Domesday Book was written, in 1086, what is now the pleasant London suburb of Ruislip was known as Rislepe, ‘leaping place on the river where rushes grow’. The book also tells us that it had more pigs than human inhabitants. These pigs roamed the extensive woodlands; and Ruislip Woods remain to this day, although smaller than they once were.
-
Like just about everyone else who visits, we came to Ranthambore with the aim of seeing tigers. And Ranthambore is all about the tigers. Every conversation you have here is guaranteed to start with ‘Did you see any tigers?’ The answer is quite likely to be yes, although there are, as ever with wildlife, no guarantees ...
-
Normally when I edit an image I do so with the intention of bringing out more clearly what I saw when I took it. However, sometimes it’s fun to take things to extremes.
-
We all know pink as the colour of romance, and most of us think of it as girly. It is also considered calming; paler shades of pink are sometimes used in prisons to calm inmates. And apparently sports teams have been known to paint the opposition changing room pink to make their players passive and less energetic.
-
You only have to spend a few hours in Luang Prabang to see why this town regularly tops lists of travellers’ favourite places. Its laid-back vibe, its historic royal palace and perhaps most of all its beautiful Buddhist temples, over 30 in total. What struck me was the way that the monks and tourists co-exist, with full respect among (most of) the latter for the traditions of the former.
-
Autumn comes stealthily. A touch of orange on a leaf. A few berries on a tree or bush. Late summer flowers starting to dominate our gardens. Conkers falling and squirrels out foraging in our local parks. It's my favourite season, although I'd like it even more if it weren't followed by winter, my least favourite!
-
Never go back, they say. And it’s a rule we tend to follow when it comes to travelling, but we make a few exceptions. And prime among those exceptions is Paris. We spent the first part of our honeymoon there, recently celebrated our fortieth anniversary there, and in between those two trips have visited together on five other occasions. And that doesn’t include a visit each back in our even more ancient and separate histories!
