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…”

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

Pin It on Pinterest