Category Archives: Travel

Of Fjords and Waterfalls, Salmon and Seagulls

Norway in mid-summer, and those never-ending Scandinavian days, when the sun sets in the north-west for a mere blink of the eye, before rising again in the north-east. Birds chatter and chirp for as long as the sky is bright, … Continue reading

Posted in Norway, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Of Fjords and Waterfalls, Salmon and Seagulls

Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries

‘England represented the safety and comfort of familiarity but France dared me with challenges and rewarded me with the thrill of new discoveries within myself.’ ~ Barbara Santich Remember what it is like to be a footloose student or a … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Wine, France, History, Local Culture, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries

Travelling North

It was simply an overnight stop en route to the ferry port at Hertshals. We had spent the previous night at a Holiday Inn near Bremen Airport. The location, opposite a runway and a building site, was hardly salubrious, but … Continue reading

Posted in Denmark, Food & Wine, History, Local Culture, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Travelling North

Strolling Through Ghent

We first visited Ghent in March this year. The temperature dropped overnight from 17’C to -2’C, and we lay in bed watching the snow outside our window drift down onto the canal. Unprepared and under-dressed for such late winter weather, … Continue reading

Posted in Belgium, Food & Wine, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Strolling Through Ghent

A Summer Picnic on the Loire

Take the adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes! ‘Tis but a banging of the door behind you, a blithesome step forward, and you are out of the old life and into the new! Then some day, … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Wine, France, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A Summer Picnic on the Loire

Of White Port, Peacocks and Pimientos de Padrón…

‘If I were to write about the happiest days of my life, many of them would have to do with food and wine and a table full of friends.’ ~ Charles Simic, poet Luxembourg had eight hours of sunlight in … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Wine, Portugal, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Of White Port, Peacocks and Pimientos de Padrón…

Snapshots of Scotland

It must be thirty years since I last visited Scotland, land of lochs, Highland cattle and kilts. It was a Christmas with friends on the Isle of Skye that ended in tears when we were unceremoniously evicted on New Year’s … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Wine, Scotland, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Snapshots of Scotland

Citrus Drizzle Cake

Its mid-October and the sun is getting lazy, rising reluctantly well after eight o’clock. Yet, way down south on the toenail of Spain, there is still heat in that slothful sun. Andalucia. Vejer de la Frontera. A sprawling hilltop town … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Spain, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Citrus Drizzle Cake

Living it up in London

Earlier this year, I spent an unusually sybaritic week sightseeing and overindulging with a friend from the Philippines on her first trip to London: Hampton Court (food), Harry Potter World (food) and Harrods (and more food). Then there was a … Continue reading

Posted in England, History, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Living it up in London

…and North Again

From Menton, with its glimmering sea and glittering inhabitants, we drove east along the coast and straight into Italy, where the buildings instantly lost their glamour and polish. Manicured gardens became market gardens, pencil pines were exchanged for olive trees … Continue reading

Posted in France, Italy, Switzerland, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on …and North Again