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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Vatican City Cuba Portugal Nacoochee Village L'Agulhas Giza Amman Venezuela Jersey Shore Hispaniola Puerto Rio Tranquilo Cologne Antarctic Peninsula Spitsbergen Australasia langkawi Montgomery San Juan Del Sur Kingston anjuna Kansas City Cooke City Shigatse Abu Dhabi Tekapo Sandy Hook Guiyang Port-au-Prince Blugaria Honolulu Camaguey Clarksdale Shenandoah Port of Spain Zagreb Bratislava Teotihuacan Fox Glacier Essex Jackson Hole New Mexico porto Jamestown Deadwood Peru Alausi Paris Singapore Costa Rica vizhinjam Hermanus The Balkans Dead Sea San Martin de los Andes Rome Greymouth chiang rai caye caulker Ireland Kerry Veliko Tarnovo Westport Ohio Dunedin San Jose Mexico City Poland Maryland Mendoza Oman Aysen Todra Gorge Lesser Antilles Delos Ushuaia Brian Head London waikiki Greece Slovakia Leigh Hue chiang mai tikal New Zealand Chandigarh Mayo Puerto Lopez Ticonderoga Honduras Hospet chetumal Croatia Virpazar alleppey Plovdiv Lubec Austria Cuenca Lancaster Wadi Rum beijing Saint Stephen new south wales Provincetown Guangzhou Littleton Ocean City Chichicastenango Portland Crow Agency Salta Kona Cheyenne Jerusalem Cusco chengdu Bluegrass Rockfish Gap Prague Havana Mississippi Delta Stirling Bariloche tibet seward kollam Trinidad & Tobago Burlington solola baltimore Richmond Netherlands Campania Himeji Cape Town Monaco Er Rachidia Teec Nos Pos goa Pensacola Nepal Connecticut Bethlehem Haiti Rhode Island Serbia Walker Uzbekistan Owensboro Tuymen Indonesia North Carolina Wyoming Billings Gansbaai Amsterdam Missouri Milford Sound Heartland Oregon El Chaupi Kayenta tomsk Cochrane Kyrgyzstan copan Zhangmu Taupo The Catlins Listvyanka kerala Turkey Emei Shan Hanoi Western Cape Woodstock karnataka Chicago ABC Islands Galax Sinuiju Puerto Villamil Lithuania Macclenny Tuscany Lima Novosibirisk Cordoba Cork Tetouan Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Dahab George Town Sarajevo Nikko kandy Tirana Bran Algeciras Patagonia Meknes Philadelphia Tongariro Coyhaique Crown Point hohhot Aspen Hiroshima Ontario Mesoamerica melbourne Pula Wadi Musa Kuwait Chefchaouen Mount Sinai Campobello Island Cannon Ball Cape of Good Hope Palestine Montevideo Albania Lake Titicaca Cortez Willemstad Bremen Chile Sucre Maine Tokyo Middle East Madrid Dominica Ping An Montego Bay Fenwick Island tulum shanghai Banos Panguitch Sabah Illinois Russia Colorado ataco Ljubljana Puerto Rico Franconia Rincon Chiclayo Finland Brazil Maynardville Madaba Fort Payne Jacksonville Jebel Toubkal Romania Dandong Tipperary East Asia sydney Jordan cancun Trieste Hartland Krakow Georgia Tivat Delft Catalonia El Salvador Hatteras Island Vilnius Philippines Xian oahu Sligo Durres Alexandria Nasca Cape May North America guadalajara North Macedonia Jamaica Fort William Castro La Paz Ecuador Chongqing Shelly Beach Mobile Bemidji Greater Antilles Bern Central America Latvia Macedonia Mississippi Lahaina Sinai seattle Panama City Berlin tijuana Sao Paulo colombo Merzouga Suez Bar Harbor Wisconsin Longyearbyen anchorage Arizona Gettysburg Budapest Switzerland Alpine Ouarzazate Marigot Southeast Asia lamanai Glasgow Caen Naples Marbella Warwick irkutsk Northern Ireland Milan Auschwitz/Birkenau Porto Alegre Yichang yangshou Panama Belgrade Khiva Cape Reinga Belgium Iguazu Falls Clare Bolivia Kill Devil Hills Vietnam Urumqi Guanajuato Andijon Arkansas Spain Bulgaria North Africa Erg Chebbi Sneedville Cholpon-Ata Wilmington Dijon Soufriere Montenegro Cap-Haitien Grand Cayman China Rotorua Japan leon Mount Cook The Arctic boquete Parikia Charlottesville Kazakhstan St Paul Appalachians Santo Domingo delhi las vegas Grand Forks Riga Damascus Prattville Kijong-dong / Propaganda Village Kathmandu Virginia Granby San Juan Copan Ruinas Slovenia Lori Zante Los Angeles Cornelia Chelsea Edinburgh Alaska Santa Marta Beaver Dam Ilha de Santa Catarina Isla Isabela Budva Appalachia Peloponnese Dades Gorge Massachusetts Lago De Yojoa Ingapirca Lincoln key west Tashkent Tingri Buford Danang Vienna jodhpur Nevada Pyramiden Stellenbosch Cooperstown Sint Maarten Normandy Brainerd kuta Ocho Rios Niagara antigua Pisa bundi France Israel Philipsburg Perm bay islands Colombia Santa Clara Saint Lucia Antrim flores Naushki Almaty Thailand Jackson fort cochin Svalbard Madison Navajo Nation Vík í Mýrdal Delmarva New Zealand - South Island West Yellowstone Luquillo Dyess Vancouver Island Monte Carlo Hyannis Hawaii coba Sofia Luxor Omaha Whangarei Easter Island Arabia El Calafate Tyumen Costa del Sol Yongin Vicksburg Ghorepani Lhasa uxmal Hungary Iceland Mandeville Lake Ohrid Leadville Australia Stepantsminda Cairo borneo Nuweiba victoria Eastport kosovo Colonial Williamsburg Venice Upstate New York Puerto Ayora vladimir Siem Reap Mostar galle Paju san diego Roanoke Island jaco Argentina Machu Picchu Punta Cana Slyudyanka Rio de Janeiro Reykjavik Cannes homer UAE Antarctica Tobolsk Alliance merida Louisiana Trinidad Meridian Rissani New Jersey Bodie Island Bird in Hand Zakynthos Gyeongju Kolkata / Calcutta 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Olympia byron bay Bogota Syracuse Rapa Nui Transylvania New Haven Colonia del Sacramento Annapolis Chesapeake Williamsburg Flanders Valparaiso The Caribbean / West Indies Highland Roseau Ancud Zugdidi Vermont Istanbul Veneto Paros Logan Ashland Lauterbrunnen Kota Kinabalu Asheville Sri Lanka Te Anu Rugby Muscat Uttar Pradesh Outer Banks Fengdu Varadero Ipiales Cordell busan granada Baltic States Lewes Porto Montenegro Muine St Cloud Atlantic City New Orleans Montreal Canyon Village Scandinavia Ica Yekaterinburg Hama Copacabana Pucon Warsaw Cayman Islands Gracanica Minneapolis hilo Gibraltar hana Hoi An agra New Church New England Cote d'Azur / French Riviera Ait Benhaddou Scottsbluff Concepción de Ataco penang Shakhunya Essaouira Laramie Bloomington Quebec City Greenfield Guatemala Marrakesh

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