Posts/Entries

All posts/entries, for now, from over two decades of global travel. And a few colourful tags, too.

Mystras, Greece

Mystras, Greece

“In a country where antiquity is king, the fascinating tumbledown complex of churches and monasteries of the fortified UNESCO-listed mountain retreat of Mystras, last foothold anywhere for the once-mighty Byzantium Empire, feels like something of an upstart; it is only, at most, 800 years old.”

Sparta, Greece

Sparta, Greece

“Conscious of the past, efforts were made at the time to rebuild the town so as to reflect its ancient pre-eminence, but the town planners fell someway short. In their defence, they did not have a lot to play with; it’s obvious Ancient Sparta was more focused on building legendary armies as opposed to cities. Plus, it’s hard for a structure to outlive antiquity if it was never constructed in the first place.”

Olympia, Greece

Olympia, Greece

“If the present-day archaeological site of Ancient Olympia, the former celebrated sanctuary of Greek supreme god Zeus and the birthplace of the Olympic Games, doesn’t win gold for being Greece’s most redolent ancient site then it would at the very least be assured of a podium finish.”

Peloponnese, Greece

Peloponnese, Greece

”The Greek Peloponnese Peninsula heavy-hitting history trilogy: Ancient Olympia, the once-great sanctuary to Zeus and birthplace of the Olympic Games; Sparta, the ancient city-state famous for its military prowess; and the UNESCO-listed lofty heights of Mystras, the last bastion of power for the once-mighty Byzantium Empire.”

Zákynthos, Greece

Zákynthos, Greece

“A now-iconic image… the MV Panagiotis… blown off course during adverse weather in October 1980… sitting pretty here ever since in the middle of a secluded white-sand beach and surrounded by towering white limestone cliffs… it is beyond dazzling, easily one of the most picture-perfect scenes I’ve ever pointed a (zoom) lens at.”

Tínos, Greece

Tínos, Greece

“There is more to the Cycladic island of Tínos than the all-encompassing holiness associated with its venerated Church of Virgin Mary/Panagia Evangelistria and its miracle-working icon. But the hulking form of Greece’s major Marian shrine is the only reason I paid the island a visit from nearby Mýkonos meaning that overtly-religious Tínos may just be as adept at drawing tourists as it is pilgrims.”

Delos, Greece

Delos, Greece

“… one of the holiest sanctuaries in Greek mythology, the island is the mythical birthplace of the gods Apollo and his twin sister Artemis. Today, the fascinating archaeological site on the island, one of the most important collections of ancient Greek ruins on earth, preserves the remains of a sanctuary to Apollo and Artemis and the once-magnificent city, a bustling commercial centre, that developed around it.”

Mýkonos, Greece

Mýkonos, Greece

“It’s not the exclusive celeb and jet set hangout it used to be in the 50s and 60s, when such A-listers as Jackie O, Maria Callas, Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor all vacationed here, but fabulous gay-friendly Mýkonos is still the Cyclades glamour capital, not to mention its hedonistic party central.”

Páros, Greece

Páros, Greece

“Páros… was all the more charming for what it wasn’t – it wasn’t busy, it wasn’t expensive, and it wasn’t as ostentatious as elsewhere. But it was still sufficiently Cyclades-esque swank and downright seductive, almost coquettishly so. And pretty. Oh-so pretty. Two islands in and one was quickly discovering that ‘oh-so pretty’ is par of the course on these Cyclades isles.”

Santoríni, Greece

Santoríni, Greece

“… a somewhat exclusive destination of unparalleled global appeal, a place-to-see-before-you-die location par excellence. Oozing romance and voguish in the extreme, its world-famous landscape, vistas, architecture, and cave house infinity pools have graced the pages of nearly every glossy travel or lifestyle magazine ever printed and formed the backdrop for many a bikini-clad fashion model shoot, staged social media influencer selfie, or dreamy wanderlust-inspiring GoPro video footage.”

Island Hopping, Greece

Island Hopping, Greece

“… pick your island of choice. Better still, pick a few. Check the ferry schedule and set sail. Settle into a quaint room. Wander among whitewashed lanes. Wash down your souvlaki with a beer or a carafe of wine in a local taverna. And when all that is done you can hop to the next island and do it all over again. C’est la belle vie Greek style, one sun-drenched island at a time.”

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

“There are two versions of Ohrid here in this placid region of southwest Macedonia: one is a small hilly resort town with a compact walled Old Quarter of traditional houses with red-tiled roofs, medieval churches, monasteries, open-air ruins, and a centuries-old fortress towering above it all; the other is a shimmering lake straddling the mountainous border between Macedonia and Albania, one of Europe’s deepest, oldest, and most picturesque bodies of water harbouring a unique and UNESCO-protected ecosystem. Two reasons to visit when, for me at least, one would be draw enough. Fortunately, where Ohrid is concerned they come as a package.”

Skopje, Macedonia

Skopje, Macedonia

“Most of what bemused me about the city today wasn’t even here a decade ago. Millions have been spent in recent years turning the centre of the city into something of a bizarre theme park of garish architecture – some 130 structures (buildings, statues, bridges, water features, and even a triumphal arch) were erected between 2010 and 2014 as part of the Skopje 2014 project, one of Europe’s biggest urban renewal schemes centred around both banks of the city’s Vardar River.”

Kosovo

Kosovo

“It’s affordable, gritty, youthful, ambitious & friendly, a very new country dealing with a troubled past while looking towards a brighter future. Here and now Kosovo also has bears; UNESCO-listed monuments; and a likable capital city boasting 200,000+ hospitable locals, a not-so-old Old Quarter, a bizarre man crush on a former US president, life-size lettering…great street scenes, and some standout architecture, including what must surely be a contender for the ugliest building on earth. Yes, it’s a curious mix alright, but one that somehow works…”

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South Island Antrim Medicine Bow Listvyanka Danang Mandeville USA Gyeongju Ticonderoga Berlin Rissani Cap-Haitien Puerto Ayora merida The Balkans Svalbard Clarksdale Punta Arenas Gettysburg punjab Ghandruk Catalonia Hong Kong Alaverdi Atlantic City Central Asia Massachusetts Montville North Macedonia Florida Mongolia Cannes Jacksonville Noosa Tallahassee Reykjavik Indian Subcontinent miami Llandudno san salvador Rosario Maine Dahab Montenegro chengdu Ushuaia Oman Navajo Nation Sinuiju Datong Tegucigalpa Kilkenny Shenandoah Honduras Georgia Rhode Island ipoh Grand Forks Laganas Thailand Antwerp Brazil Chiclayo Belgium Middle East victoria Rio de Janeiro Castro North Dakota Vatican City Outer Banks Iberia ulan bator las vegas Mumbai/Bombay bundi Monte Carlo Manuel Antonio Urumqi Durres Nasca El Salvador Hispaniola Barentsburg Tallinn coba seoul Guilin Roseau Ljubljana Santiago irkutsk Antarctic Peninsula Australia Cetinje Hama Nizhny Novgorod Queenstown Palestine Tirana Japan Italy Alpine siberia Westport Bolivia Isla Isabela Portland busan Dominica Elim byron bay hana Tuymen Cleveland New Zealand yangshou Maharashtra Dead Sea Uruguay solola Puerto Varas Antarctica Paraguay Virginia New Haven Cuenca Greater Antilles Plovdiv Puerto Lopez Teotihuacan Colorado Nuweiba Jenkins San Juan South Carolina Lubec Mount Sinai Tuscany Ecuador Charlottesville shanghai Coeburn Delaware Tivat Nebraska Hoi An the big island Sneedville Veliko Tarnovo Prishina Rome Negril Niagara Bucharest utila hohhot Lombardy borneo Srebrenica Venezuela Aviemore Kentucky Panguitch Prattville Pisa China & Tibet Netherlands Antilles boquete Yongin Grand Lake New York Spain Belize kerala Kotor Macau amritsar United Kingdom North Africa Mystras san diego Curacao Dades Gorge Lori baltimore dublin Brasov Bloomington Jerusalem Huaraz krabi boston Front Royal lisbon Pula Kobe Uttar Pradesh Colleville Sur Mer Ghent Santa Clara Luxor Saint Stephen St Cloud Whangarei chetumal ericeira west bengal Kill Devil Hills Zante Muriwai Beach Shakhunya Potosi Erie Nags Head England Ontario Novosibirisk Guiyang Port Waikato La Paz Puerto Rio Tranquilo Sandy Hook galle Slyudyanka Caucasus Peloponnese Kansas City Tierra del Fuego Appalachians Pyramiden suchitoto chiang mai Cooperstown Fenwick Island St. Lucia Cork tulum hilo Sucre Pennsylvania Ilha de Santa Catarina British Columbia Sinai Cape Reinga Simon's Town Rincon Tekapo Puno Naples Montreal Donegal Madison Ingapirca Te Anu Delmarva Bodie Island Indonesia Longyearbyen Matauri Bay Yazoo City Torres Del Paine Castries Kazakhstan Kodari Riga Pristina Lexington El Jadida Chicago Salina Rapa Nui Ullapool Stellenbosch Chile Macedonia Himeji Oia tikal dubai Concepción de Ataco Montevideo Sri Lanka Syria Memphis Ireland Emei Shan Willemstad Guatemala Vermont Giza Poland Teec Nos Pos East Asia Skye Minnesota Madaba Custer Essex moscow Sweden Mesoamerica Cartagena North America Florianopolis Guayaquil Cooke City Indianapolis north car South America beijing melbourne Vancouver Island Philipsburg Invercargill China Salt Lake City Lima Ohio Gansbaai goa Deception Island Austria Muine Hanoi Sabah Santiago Atitlan Wadi Rum Fort Payne Barcelona Logan Beaver Dam Dominican Republic Fes Helen Ohrid Caleta Tortel Uzbekistan Golmud Belgrade Cuba Colombia Brussels Gori Nanning Hora Arlington Tongariro India Scottsbluff Fort Yates Muscat varanasi Lakota Copacabana Bemidji Bern Trieste Hout Bay Nikko Toledo caye caulker guadalajara Meridian Bar Harbor Provincetown Netherlands Bismarck Imlil Bukhara Aspen Wanaka Podgorica Stirling Blugaria Cote d'Azur / French Riviera Malaysia Arkansas Northern Ireland Normandy Bangkok Nuwera Eliya Amsterdam Hatteras Island Russia New Zealand - 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