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…”

Kingston Galax Wadi Musa Bangkok Kolkata / Calcutta Kuwait Varadero Clare Finland Essaouira Arlington New Brunswick Rosario Fajardo tikal Cholpon-Ata Garden City Hout Bay The Balkans France Rapa Nui Latvia Moulay Idriss South Africa Podgorica Intercourse Aviemore Paraguay jodhpur Mendoza Ocho Rios Puerto Rio Tranquilo tijuana Galapagos Islands amritsar Punta Cana Monaco Atlanta Cape Town Spain New Haven Copacabana chetumal John O'Groats Torrington Colonia del Sacramento Delaware Chicago Tennessee Antwerp Lima Rincon kollam Canada Burwell Colombia Macau Gyantse Cote d'Azur / French Riviera San Juan Del Sur Colleville Sur Mer Nepal siberia West Virginia ABC Islands Macclenny sunshine coast yucatan Hue El Chalten Almaty Monte Carlo Mumbai/Bombay Negril Toledo Elim Middle East Lake Titicaca Czech Republic Indianapolis England Barentsburg brisbane San Martin de los Andes Page Jersey Shore Tirana Estes Park santa ana Idaho Gracanica Nacoochee Village Mandeville Belgium Ingapirca Macedonia 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Virpazar Machu Picchu Lithuania Shenandoah Kerry Rissani Heartland Adirondacks Kodari Guatemala stockholm Jungfrau coba Hama Concepción de Ataco Lori Westport Jackson Dandong the big island Osh Boracay La Paz Jamaica Arizona Damascus West Yellowstone Montgomery Ontario Prattville Rugby cancun Bodie Island Slovenia Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Palolem Dominica Noosa Guanajuato Antarctic Peninsula Pyramiden Lewes unawatuna Chile Brazil Sinuiju Bukhara Vancouver Island Littleton Cologne Hermanus Shakhunya Belgrade Tinos copenhagen seward Algeciras Sucre Honduras miami Buford kosovo Massachusetts Salina Cape of Good Hope Brasov Leigh Dijon Puerto Villamil Spitsbergen Flanders Upstate New York Margate Svalbard victoria Trinidad & Tobago Lakota Hatteras Island Te Anu Hungary Norway Bird in Hand Switzerland Falmouth Todra Gorge Alaska Birmingham Cuenca Fox Glacier Portugal Medellin Coyhaique Christchurch Santo Domingo Mystras Sepilok Deception Island Santa Marta Sunauli South Carolina L'Agulhas Roanoke Island Puerto Lopez Tena ataco Vienna Salt Lake City Barre Caucasus Guilin USA Rockfish Gap seattle Cleveland Tobolsk Rotorua Potosi Romania New Church Lago De Yojoa beijing Sint Maarten Peloponnese Yongin Western Cape Jordan Kona Mobile Santiago Listvyanka Burlington shanghai Cartagena hampi Copan Ruinas Kuala Lumpur Er Rachidia alleppey chengdu Lahaina leshan Singapore The Catlins Ljubljana Fes Mississippi Delta Jacksonville langkawi Asheville Saint Martin Durango Milan Port-au-Prince Japan North Korea Zagreb Panama City Alabama Bulgaria St. Lucia Omaha Blugaria San Jose Cherbourg Edinburgh Whangarei South Korea Lake Ohrid Serbia agra Panajachel Xian Ullapool lamanai Philadelphia Ancud Samarkand Shelly Beach South Shetland Islands kandy Maharashtra Minnesota Tierra del Fuego Annapurna China & Tibet Arabia Stepantsminda Matauri Bay Alliance anchorage Treasure Beach Cuba Vilnius Logan Imlil Berlin baltimore Muriwai Beach Cordell Bismarck Puerto Ayora North Macedonia Reykjavik Tuscany Simon's Town Lhasa anjuna Mount Cook Armenia Taupo Maynardville Alexandria Campobello Island Dades Gorge rajasthan Georgia Willemstad tomsk Crow Agency Uzbekistan orange walk Popayan Veliko Tarnovo Florianopolis ipoh South Ossetia Siem Reap Ping An san diego fort cochin Loja Costa Rica Huaraz Syracuse Pristina melbourne mysore French Antilles Jenkins jaco Crown Point Highland Netherlands Antilles Cayman Islands Bloubergstrand Madaba moscow san salvador Jamestown India Sneedville Quebec Perm Mexico City Ghent Mtskheta Beulah Alpine Curacao Vermont Buenos Aires Muine Patagonia Ipiales north car Naples Kentucky Granby suchitoto Santa Rosa de Copan Spalding New Jersey Franschhoek Illinois New England Santorini Jebel Toubkal Queenstown Belize City Jackson Hole Lincoln Yerevan Veneto Tetouan Dominican Republic Vietnam Lesser Antilles caye caulker Washington D.C. Piura Santa Clara Palestine Jeju Olympia California Madrid United Kingdom Manuel Antonio Rhineland Pensacola Yichang Wilmington St Paul Gangnam Clarksdale Sri Lanka Cheyenne Sarajevo Harbin Bar Harbor Sandy Hook Selma Brussels Zugdidi maui Mesoamerica Montana Kota Kinabalu Central Asia Budapest yangshou Medicine Bow Manteo karnataka Puerto Varas Juayua key west The Cyclades Kayenta Ohio Kyoto Gyeongju Mexico Saint Stephen Hora Bucharest New Zealand - South Island Pokhara uxmal Paju Lexington Aqaba Trieste Emei Shan Tallinn Iceland Zante Kansas City Missouri Novosibirisk borneo Giza Israel Albania Mayo Puerto Natales Cape May lisbon Kleinbaai Bethlehem merida Quito Isla de la Ometepe New Orleans Suwon Isla Isabela Luxor sydney Appalachians Meknes Canyon Village Southeast Asia Donegal las vegas queensland Fort Payne El Chaupi Astana Colonial Williamsburg Cetinje Tyumen Polynesia Rio Gallegos Trakai Cannon Ball Cortez vizhinjam ulan bator Lancaster Ushuaia New Zealand Northern Ireland Iowa Costa del Sol mafra delhi Hiroshima Memphis Lake George Panjim Panmunjom Kotor Montpelier Cambodia Ashland wicklow St. Louis Muscat Dubrovnik Parikia South Dakota Andros Sofia Teec Nos Pos Castries Scandinavia antigua Poland Cornelia Myrtle Beach New Zealand - North Island Puerto Rico kovalam Netherlands Ica Pennsylvania Florence Yekaterinburg Puno Antarctica Trujillo Indian Subcontinent The Arctic Delft Amsterdam Aspen Croatia Vík í Mýrdal Longyearbyen Hyannis Bruges Verona Uyuni Eastport Kyrgyzstan Outer Banks San Juan Guayaquil Wanaka Istria Peninsula Dorasan Montreal Salta Richmond Maracaibo Pucon Denmark Skopje Prishina Sweden Washington Nikko Montego Bay Cusco west bengal Pula Hatch Campania Nice hilo Delos Tokyo goa Trinidad and Tobago Rome Nebraska Bosnia and Herzegovina Nevada Oregon Srebrenica Jefferson Kyllini Stepantsminda/Kazbegi Tivat granada waikiki Lombardy Mississippi Nags Head Gansbaai Portland oahu Hospet Peru New Mexico Malaysia Toronto Abu Dhabi Valparaiso seoul Tupelo Amman North Carolina Kobe vladimir Wyoming Rosine El Calafate Aleppo managua Bluegrass Transylvania Camaguey El Jadida Atlantic City irkutsk Golmud Plovdiv Guangzhou Montanita Pyongyang Teotihuacan Dyess Argentina Philipsburg Monticello Gori Madison Overberg Warsaw Dayton Woodstock Havana Tingri Cannes vancouver homer Krakow Helen leon New Hampshire Istanbul Bentonia Burgundy krabi cameron highlands Dead Sea Minneapolis Erg Chebbi Lockerbie Bogota Indonesia Hawaii Zhangmu Prague New York City Savannah Nicaragua Jerusalem Maryland tibet Belize Burdine Slyudyanka Erlian Greece Erie galle Khiva New York Gettysburg

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