Our preparations have begun in earnest for our stroll across northern Spain later in the year. When I say stroll, 800km is probably a bit more than a stroll and so a bit of training is called for. Living in Canberra’s south-west I have easy access to the Weston Ponds …
I must admit I’m just a bit excited. I’ve had some time out from this blog and I’ve been thinking about doing a very different kind of travel – something to challenge me and at the same time giving me space to reflect. Mindful travel requires time to process the experience. …
Australia’s Capital, Canberra, hosts an annual festival of Japanese culture at the Nara Park on the lake foreshore. Canberra has ‘twin’ status with Nara city in Japan (near Kyoto Prefecture) and the Nara Candle Festival celebrates this link. In addition to the amazing cuisine, there were demonstrations of traditional Japanese …
The extensive remains of the Roman Baths (thermae) in Arles in the south of France – built during the 4th Century AD under Emperor Constantine – give an insight into how the Romanised Gauls lived – taking on many aspects of Roman culture. Regular bathing was was practiced across all classes. …
Go to any travel site and you’ll see a dozen packing lists for your trip – whether for short or long travel, what tech equipment to take, which shoes and hats to take and so on – but there is one list that seems to be missing. And it is …
One of the great delights, whether in the Tuilleries garden in Paris or at the centre of many French towns, are the myriad colourful carousels. They are loved by children worldwide and form a component of almost every amusement park. Once they were the main attraction, but time and technology …
Recent scientific research on what makes us happy shows that experiences, however one-off or short-lived, are more effective at sustaining our happiness than buying a longer lasting thing. This seems counter-intuitive, but according to Dr Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University: “We buy things to make us happy, and …
Why are bridges so fascinating? Bridges hold a special place in every culture. They are a means to cross from one place to another; over a hazard, a dangerous river or chasm. So bridges are both a connection and a marker for a division. When you step off the land …
When you enter a city – perhaps the one you are in right now, you probably spend quite a bit of time looking up at the architectural details above the shop level. I do that a lot and often find that that is where the history is, where the story …
