Why you should see a concert in St Martin-in-the-Fields

Iconic on the outside, the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields is also a bit special inside. And not because of what you see. This post is about what you can hear when you venture inside. First, a bit about the building. The earliest reference to a church on this site is …

Shrek’s Bridge in Bristol?

My first thought on seeing Pero’s Bridge was that Bristol had a tide-driven sound-sculpture. Either that or Shrek was the chief designer. But it turns out that the horns were functional in a different way; as counter-weights for the bascules. This is a bridge that can be raised to allow …

Christmas steps – a hidden gem in Bristol UK

Bristol is a fascinating place with a unique history in Britain. The tours will tell you about Brunel and the Clifton Bridge or the SS Great Britain, but we were introduced to one of Bristol’s lesser-known hidden gems by our local guide and friend Jules Woolford. It involves a staircase and …

Rijksmuseum – The well-stocked kitchen

The Well-Stocked Kitchen – painted 1566 In 1566, the painter Joachim Beukelaer warned us about the dangers of Facebook, Pokemon-Go and distractive technologies. Perhaps not literally, but he illustrates the point beautifully in his painting: The Well-Stocked Kitchen. In this painting, we are drawn first to the kitchen maids in …

Amsterdam Segway tour – the other 2 wheels

Amsterdam is very bike friendly and you can hire bikes at reasonable rates – or buy a used one from €50 – and maybe sell it at the end of your holiday. There are special lanes for bikes (which are also used by motor scooters(!)) and they seem to mostly …

Singapore’s Colourful markets

You can taste the air, thickly laden with moisture and heat and frangipani, as soon as you step off the plane in Singapore’s Changi airport. It was quite a contrast with the minus 3C we experienced flying out of Canberra’s Winter chill. Singapore is ideally placed to be a global …

Balladonia and the space station

On to Balladonia. We passed the Western end of the Nullarbor Plain and celebrated with a photo and a happy dance before heading on to Balladonia 🙂 And neared the end of the Ninety Mile Straight. Balladonia at the Western end of the 90-mile straight seems an unlikely place to …

Camino training – a lighthearted look

Training for any long walk, including the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain, requires some preparation, both physical and mental. Physical preparation – walking with backpacks Firstly, physical preparation must include walking on paths analogous to the kinds of track we expect to encounter, with distance …

Caiguna Blowhole

Around 5km west of Caiguna on the Nullarbor Plain, you will see a blue sign pointing the way to the Caiguna Blowhole. The sign breaks the monotony of the view 🙂 The Caiguna blowhole is disturbingly close to the highway, being only about 20m from the road, and it marks …