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…”

Galax Prishina Tuymen Naples Invercargill Florianopolis L'Agulhas Grand Cayman George Town Tekapo Dead Sea Heartland Tingri Oregon porto Ireland Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Como Bluffs Ingapirca South Carolina Eastport Kijong-dong / Propaganda Village Cooke City Peru Angkor Monte Carlo Cannes Northern Ireland Missouri Pennsylvania Annapolis utah Cuba Elim Ghorepani Stanstead Estonia Tivat Mexico City Easter Island Oman Sucre Cairo Indiana Bulgaria Uttar Pradesh Zakynthos Pyongyang kuta Erlian Zagreb Clarksdale Chefchaouen Memphis north car Datong El Salvador yangshou Lake Titicaca Hoi An Cartagena Simon's Town Torres Del Paine Asheville Antwerp Cetinje Switzerland Colorado Cleveland Santa Clara Billings Emei Shan USA Tegucigalpa New Jersey Iguazu Falls Noosa Alabama Coeburn Pula Wyoming Santiago Atitlan Potosi oslo Savannah Maynardville Crow Agency Panajachel Juayua tikal Adirondacks Kill Devil Hills Hong Kong Montevideo Washington D.C. 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Ashland Finland Castries Lubec Sweden san diego Denmark Michigan Grand Lake Guatemala Greenfield Chile Lake Ohrid Krakow Cortez Thailand Jerusalem Page Copan Ruinas Torrington Blugaria Annapurna Ghandruk France Mestia boquete Rapa Nui Fort William Kerry Nashville Llandudno mysore Abu Dhabi Foz do Iguacu Florence Rhineland san francisco Kathmandu Portland England Budapest caye caulker Nevada Yerevan Montville Alexandria Montgomery Nara anjuna Sandy Hook Willemstad Nice Huaraz Hungary Cusco Niagara Santa Roas de Copan Bodie Island Littleton Donegal kandy seattle Bemidji Fort Payne Cologne Delos Copacabana Tetouan South America Madaba Scandinavia helsinki Montana Auschwitz/Birkenau Teec Nos Pos delhi Verona Bar Harbor Romania Midelt Roanoke Island Arkansas Alaverdi Burgundy Dahab key west Medicine Bow Meridian Marbella Oia Atlanta Buford chiang mai Vermont ipoh Gradil Suez Kazakhstan New Church Shenandoah Zhangmu Buenos Aires Cooperstown Tupelo Merzouga Lesser Antilles Montenegro Bran Vilnius Mandeville The Balkans Marrakesh Gori Kotor byron bay vizhinjam Trinidad Wellington Yekaterinburg waikiki Williamsburg Uzbekistan Andros Turkey Caen Monticello Jungfrau alleppey Antarctic Peninsula New Orleans Costa del Sol Lori Fort Yates Philipsburg Delft Ipiales Central America Barcelona Morocco Lima Indonesia India Sri Lanka San Martin de los Andes Brainerd St. Louis Scotland ella Burdine Bogota Cholpon-Ata Mount Cook Colombia Popayan Idaho Erie Imlil victoria copan Bethlehem Mesoamerica Hyden Franconia Yichang Kleinbaai New York colombo Dominica Sneedville krabi Virpazar Gansbaai Nicaragua siberia Friendship Highway The Arctic East Asia Ionian Islands Kona Salina Chiclayo jodhpur managua Pisa san salvador Yongin Marigot Charlottesville Cape Reinga John O'Groats Puno Brasov Longyearbyen Kobe Ohio Cambodia Brussels Atlantic City Mississippi Shigatse Fes Andijon Ontario Ouarzazate Trakai Lakota Tangier Saint Martin Ghent Paju New Zealand Sint Maarten Mendoza Rio Gallegos tijuana Singapore Puerto Varas Normandy Indian Subcontinent Kentucky Boracay merida Xian Galapagos Islands Quebec City Vík í Mýrdal ulan bator Guangzhou Crown Point Ullapool Brian Head San Juan Del Sur El Jadida Aviemore Belize City Punta Cana hana Toledo Dyess Tongariro The Cyclades Sligo Aleppo kovalam China New England Teotihuacan Mykonos Urumqi North Dakota Maryland kenai peninsula Greece Jeju Ica Indianapolis Rio de Janeiro Puerto Lopez irkutsk Ohrid Chongqing Machu Picchu Banos Honolulu Svalbard Bratislava Havana Louisiana Puerto Villamil Ticonderoga Montanita Budva Appalachians Slovenia Provincetown cancun Palestine Macau Queenstown Nuweiba Edinburgh Puerto Ayora Tena Hue Hout Bay Panmunjom Pokhara Tokyo Ecuador Pyramiden Trinidad and Tobago Mississippi Delta bali Vienna Tashkent Barentsburg Albania Woodstock Paraguay Chicago mafra Bolivia Kyrgyzstan Guiyang Rotorua Colonial Williamsburg Syria flores West Indies Belgrade Soufriere Cordoba Western Cape Coyhaique Perito Moreno Uruguay melbourne Sofia Nanning Antarctica bay islands santa ana The Catlins Intercourse Laganas Chelsea Kansas City Jersey Shore agra Mystras Salta Shakhunya Malaysia San Jose Garden City Barre Dubrovnik Israel Palolem Sunauli Greater Antilles Owensboro Rhode Island wicklow Sinuiju Jacksonville Whangarei Hama lisbon Fengdu Moulay Idriss Ping An Cienfuegos Cote d'Azur / French Riviera Toronto Warwick Todra Gorge Istria Peninsula Pensacola Port of Spain Tipperary Twin Lakes Roseau Porto Alegre Flanders tomsk Samarkand Estes Park Maharashtra Porto Montenegro boston Richmond Sabah Russia Transylvania Luxor Hanoi Norway Plovdiv Providence Mongolia Trujillo Philadelphia Milford Sound Tuscany Cornelia Catalonia Essaouira Isla Isabela Galapagos Bird in Hand South Shetland Islands China & Tibet Macedonia Riga Caleta Tortel Bismarck Australia rajasthan Sarajevo El Chalten Jamaica Muine Lockerbie Warsaw South Korea Falmouth Hawaii Austria Taupo Imjingak Leigh Deception Island Lincoln kerala Kuwait Tierra del Fuego Pucon galle Kingston Nikko Japan Mumbai/Bombay Vicksburg Costa Rica Veneto Dijon Colonia del Sacramento Grand Forks Madison Belgium Mayo bundi Trinidad & Tobago chiang rai leshan Bloomington Peloponnese Central Asia Knoxville Venice Helen Muriwai Beach Dades Gorge Ait Benhaddou Jamestown Cap-Haitien oahu Dunedin antigua casablanca Santa Marta El Chaupi Vancouver Island Wisconsin Durres Cannon Ball Zugdidi Florida Nacoochee Village Saint Stephen New Hampshire Astana hilo Wilmington Dominican Republic hohhot Aspen Maine chengdu Kota Kinabalu Paros New Zealand - South Island Venezuela Tobolsk Arlington Cape Cod El Alamein Rosario Salt Lake City Netherlands Antilles Ilha de Santa Catarina Gettysburg Omaha South Ossetia Haiti Campania Andalusia Armenia Gibraltar Piura Colleville Sur Mer Nepal Dorasan Quito Te Anu Poland varanasi Upstate New York Bruges miami Latvia leon Mount Sinai Lithuania Golmud seoul Novosibirisk La Paz Guilin UAE Curacao Lhasa Guanajuato Cork utila Manteo Iceland Lake George Alaska Bangkok Bloubergstrand New Haven Montego Bay Skopje Montpelier Beulah Bremen Delaware borneo Southeast Asia Guayaquil Naushki Saint Petersburg Er Rachidia Gracanica New York City Giza Puerto Rico Stepantsminda Valparaiso Australasia jaco Algeciras Connecticut Krasnoyarsk Cape Town North Korea Aysen Camaguey Macclenny tibet Manuel Antonio Selma Los Angeles Cheyenne Nuwera Eliya Jordan Abkhazia Jefferson Nebraska Cayman Islands Virginia pushkar Santo Domingo Burlington Ocho Rios Illinois San Juan Alausi Saint Lucia Tallinn dubai Minnesota Almaty Leadville ubud Sint Maarten / Saint Martin Germany Erg Chebbi Glasgow The Caribbean / West Indies Minneapolis Santa Rosa de Copan guadalajara Tallahassee Ushuaia Cape May vladimir Lewisburg Spalding fort cochin Stirling Concepción de Ataco Port-au-Prince Medellin Ciudad del Este Hatteras Island Treasure Beach Kuala Lumpur Iberia Hatch Ocean City Meknes United Kingdom Bosnia and Herzegovina Bariloche Tinos busan seward Middle East Portugal Wanaka Netherlands Washington Lewes kosovo brisbane South Dakota Parikia Birmingham Gangnam Pompeii Cordell Danang Zante Croatia Dayton Puerto Rio Tranquilo new south wales Argentina Scottsbluff Malaga Deadwood Jacmel ataco Lancaster Georgia Rincon Laramie Hyannis Alpine West Yellowstone Alliance Fenwick Island las vegas coba London Arizona Highland punjab copenhagen Trieste Negril suchitoto cameron highlands Punta Arenas Quebec Egypt baltimore Bukhara solola chetumal uxmal Iowa British Columbia Margate Sparta Sinai langkawi

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