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. …
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 …
When travelling, slow down and take time to look – with the intensity of an artist! The camera can capture what is in front of you, but it takes your intervention to capture how you feel about it. And that is where post-processing comes in. Whether it is just putting …
Circular Polariser Filter (CPL) When trying to record your travels, there is nothing so frustrating as not being able to get a decent photo in a museum. On my first visit to the British Museum, I completely failed to get a decent photo of the Rosetta Stone. Why? It was …
Why use a keyboard? Travel blogging – or just recording your trip electronically – means you sometimes want to leave the larger laptop back at the hotel. Yet typing full pages of notes is tricky and slow when trying to use the tiny touch screen keys on your phone. Sure, …
