We have just returned from a trip to the northern coast of Sicily and will tell you all about it in a three-part series of posts starting next week. As usual, we will tell you where to go for scenic “easy hikes” but also how to discover some off-the-wall sites and where to go for top-quality and top-value meals in Sicily.
We will begin in with a visit of Palermo, Sicily’s largest town and ancient capital: a place where different traditions meet, often in fascinating and unforeseeable ways.
When in Dijon, do as the Dijonnais do. Which is why we – on our recent trip to the capital of Burgundy – followed the Sentier du Martin-Pecheur, advertised in the official literature as the favourite “easy hiking” route of the Dijonais. First of all, a clarification to avoid disappointment: the word “pecheur” in the…
Easy Hiking in the South of France Oligarch for a Day in Cap Martin One thing many people know about the French Riv is that it’s for millionaires only. When I told my 87-year-old mum, God bless her, that we were moving there, she cried. She could not help it, she explained: the thought of…
San Gimignano, the New York of the Middle Ages Truly great hiking trails are a mix of four elements, and the Via Francigena – stretching for nearly 2000 km from Canterbury to Rome – has them all. Firstly and secondly, the Francigena Way features beautiful landscapes and variety: the combination that defines any “good” hiking…
In Germany, more even than in other European countries, the most interesting parts of major cities can be located in the “trendy neighbourhoods”, the Szeneviertel as the Germans call them – a term which, perhaps inadvertently, references the world of the theatre. Inadvertently or not, however, the analogy feels appropriate because these quarters appear to…
Hiking through History in Ios, Milos and Paros in Exploring the Cyclades Hiking is a wonderful way of exploring and experiencing your immediate neighbourhood. If you have never wondered what the world looks like beyond that distant little strip of green that you can see from your bedroom window, chances are you will not get…
Having followed a dried-out river for our last post, we will today explore a dried-out wetlands preserve. The rain in Spain – the little there has been over the past five years – has, it seems, mainly fallen outside of Valencia, and as a consequence, the Albufera wetlands, a short bus ride to the south…
