Our journey has taken us today from Sansol, with its Templar-inspired church, past an ancient farmer’s humble storm shelter. Then to the tomb of the illegitimate son of a Pope. Cesare Borgia rose to become a military General who won back Viana for the Navarrese. We marveled at the technical skills and artistry in the churches. And how those artworks, thinly gilded, have inspired people through the ages to reach for something greater than themselves.
The day dawned bright for our journey onward to Estella “Next there is Estella, which is fertile in good bread, excellent wine, meat, and fish, and full of all sorts of felicity” ~ Codex Calixtinus We departed our hostel before sunrise and headed down the hill as the first rays of …
Pamplona is the goal today. The morning dawned clear and cool as we headed back over the medieval bridge and left Zubiri behind us. It wasn’t long before the path began to climb. I looked back to see the town receding beneath us before we wound our way through leafy …
The Bocca della Verità is a bit special. In the absence of a handy lie detector, how do you know if someone is being truthful? Trial by ordeal? Convince people that the gods know if you’re being truthful? How could that work? To find out, we need to go to …
We passed the Colosseum on the way to our hotel, and found it even more impressive than any images could convey. The following day, with the sun high in the sky, I made my way past the Forum and over to the Colosseum to see it properly in daylight. When …
I first saw the ancient Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) from a Segway bike. I looked up from the cobblestones as our tour guide gathered us together, and there it was – the scene so often painted by Grand Tour visitors from the C17th and C18th. Stretching out beneath us, stood …
Singapore – from a garden city to a city in a garden, the Gardens by the Bay symbolises Singapores 21st century transformation
In May 1888 Vincent Van Gogh rented four rooms at 2 Place Lamartine, in a town called Arles in the south of France. This would come to be known as the Yellow House. The rooms were on the right wing of the nearest building in the painting. The two ground …
Do you approach travel with excitement or trepidation? How do you find calm amidst the excitement? And importantly, how do you balance these to get the most out of travel, and out of life more generally? It seems to me, that to get the most out of our travel, we …
