Next trip : September 2026 – France
Sometimes you don’t have to travel far for something to catch your eye.
Paris wrap
We landed accommodation in the Oberkampf district on our return to Paris finding it even more lively than our previous accomodation closer in to central Paris.
Continue readingParis wrap
Paris – street art revisited
Long time readers of this blog will know of my appreciation of street art since being introduced to an Invader work during a walking tour of Paris in 2013. There was a subsequent explosion of artists using public spaces as accessible canvasses for their creativity, wit, social commentary and humour. Anything that adhered to a …
Map check – Turin to Paris over the Alps
Is that Mont Blanc and Matterhorn?
Turin – the food
I think I found peak pizza and the place didn’t even specialise in them, such is the delightful array of honest and authentic food that awaits the visitor.
Turin – the disappointment
Besides Lavazza coffee, Turin is home to FIAT and the three major car design houses Pininfarina, Bertone and ItalDesign. Since I loved driving adorable FIATs in my youth and follow the influence of these design houses, Turin was a Mecca. A visit to one of these factories or design houses (with coffee in hand) was …
Turin – the surprise
Stepping out of Turin’s Porta Nuova train station with its soaring glass passenger hall, it was quite a sight to see trees, wide boulevards and sun-lit squares. All framed by clear blue skies and mountains in the background. While its the home of FIAT, it couldn’t be further from the grungy manufacturing city I was …
Map check – Turin
Florence – sights and sounds
Terrific performance of a set of aria favourites from a pianist, soprano and baritone. Marriage of Figaro, La Bohême, Tosca – you get the idea. The Franco Zeffirelli auditorium resonated their voices with dramatic effect. During the encore the pianist burst into song too and it brought the house down. Standing ovation. Guilty pleasure? An …
Florence – more food
Dear readers I give you, I shit you not, the cubic croissant. Little shop of wondrous delights. Here is another delicate flan. Very nice trattoria owner plonked this and two glasses on our table. Other half said I must eat more fruit. So I opted for the strawberry and the cherry chocolate (fruit seeds) this …