The Athenian Treasury, Delphi, Greece

 Europe, Greece, Travel  4 Responses »
Jan 022017
 

I mentioned yesterday that I finally made it to the Cinque Terre after three attempts. This photo is from another place I once planned to visit but failed. After I finished university, I did a six week European tour from Amsterdam to Athens. The plan was to stop at Delphi and Meteora towards the end of the trip as we made our way from Thessaloniki in Northern Greece to Athens in the South.

Our problem was, we had a really good night out in Thessaloniki and decided we wanted another one. As a result we cancelled our stop in Meteora to stay in Thessaloniki another night. That decision was complicated the next morning when we were summarily kicked out of our hotel, due to some boisterous behaviour, and were left to wander the city in search of accommodation.

We still planned on stopping in Delphi for a night, but following two consecutive big nights out in Thessaloniki we weren’t at our sharpest. As a result, we got off the train at the wrong stop and would have to wait hours for another one to take us back. Instead, we decided to get on the next train to Athens.

So, I failed to make it to both Delphi and Meteora on that trip and have wanted to go back. At the end of March 2016 I had an opportunity to go back to Greece but only had a few days. Still, I managed to visit both Delphi and Meteora in a whirlwind tour.

The following is a photo of the Athenian Treasury at Delphi, a monument I saw often in text books. I did my best to take a photo that’s a little more interesting than the standard straight on textbook shot.

athenian treasury at delphi greece interesting angle with wall on right

Happy New Year Everyone

 Europe, Italy, Travel  2 Responses »
Jan 012017
 

I know, it’s been awhile… and no, I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth. I just ran a bit low on time and as a result, ran a bit low on photos. I’ve kept traveling though and have a lot of photos to share from Vietnam, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy and Switzerland.

I’ve got travel plans for 2017 too. I’ll be kicking off the year with a return to Marrakesh and a weekend in Berlin where I hope to add to my collection of pictures. In addition, I’ll be taking a couple of more adventurous trips through the year, though I haven’t thought about where yet. Suggestions in the comments below are welcome. I’m thinking South East Asia, South America or maybe even Egypt. I’ll be doing my best to get back to regular postings.

My most recent trip was to the Cinque Terre in Italy. It was my third time trying to get there. On my first attempt, the towns in the area were beset by landslides so I had to cancel my plans. On the second attempt, I was driving from Piedmont and stopped at a service station where my car was broken into and cameras, laptops and passports were stolen.

My third trip wasn’t without a hiccup either. When I went to check into the airport in Bermuda for my flight to London, I realized that I’d booked the wrong date for my connecting flight and it had actually already departed! I actually got onto the London flight without a connection and had to quickly sort it out the next day.

In celebration of the New Year and of finally making it to Cinque Terre, please enjoy this photo, taken from my hotel balcony in Manarola while sipping from a bottle of Prosecco.

view from la toretta hotel at sunset in manarola cinque terre

Wood Turning, Marrakech Souk

 Africa, Morocco, People, Travel  1 Response »
Jan 062016
 

Shortly before stumbling upon the store full of hammered metal lamps featured yesterday, I found this guy working on making drums… except on closer inspection I realised that the things he’s making have nothing to do with the drums behind him. I never managed to find what he was actually making. They’re like little tiny table legs. There was nothing of the sort in any shops nearby.

morrocan-wood-turner-in-marrakech-souk

Lamp Souk, Marrakech

 Africa, Morocco, Travel  2 Responses »
Jan 052016
 

Walking through the markets in Marrakech is a disorientating experience, but it’s an interesting place to get lost. I didn’t get many pictures while in there as there’s just so much stuff it’s difficult to get it all in. This shop selling hammered metal lamps inspired me though and I spent quite a while trying to find a decent angle.

hammered-metal-lamps-in-Marrakech-souk

My Son, Vietnam

 Asia, Travel, Vietnam  3 Responses »
Jan 042016
 

The Champa Hindu temples called My Son are a day trip from Hoi An. We went on an organised tour but wished we’d just rented a motorcycle and found our own way there.

There was one strange moment when we were close to the temples where they made us all get off the bus to follow it across what appeared to be a perfectly sturdy modern bridge. On the way out, they didn’t make us get off at all. It was odd.

It didn’t take me long to wander away from the tour group. Most of the site was damaged by American bombing in the Vietnam war. You could see the craters from bomb blasts all around. I was pretty happy when I found this guy still intact.

temple ruin at my son with gargoyle like sculpture in center of the picture

 

Playing Xiangqi in Hoi An, Vietnam

 Asia, People, Travel, Vietnam  1 Response »
Jan 032016
 

The full moon festival at Hoi An is quite the experience. At first as I wandered through the throngs of people on previously tranquil streets, I wondered if it would have been best to avoid the festival all together. The lanterns on the river were nice and all but the influx of tourists, and vendors thrusting lit lamps in your face, was a bit overwhelming at first. The brightness of the lamps versus the darkness of the city was even pretty disorientating as my eyes struggled to adjust.

During the festival, all electric lights in the old town centre are turned off and the city is lit by nothing other than paper lamps. After the initial shock it didn’t take long to get into the swing of things. I even managed to find my travel buddy who I thought I’d lost to the darkness at one point.  Wandering through the town I discovered it was about a lot more than just seeing the town lit as if in olden times. There were traditional shows going on (including some strange singing I couldn’t quite get into) and people dressed in traditional clothes, that just seemed to be enjoying the night. Each street you turned down seemed to hold a new surprise. I especially enjoyed watching these old guys playing a game I’d never seen before.

A quick Wikipedia search has let me know that it’s a chess like game called Xiangqi. It includes a piece called a canon that has to jump pieces to take them, generals aren’t allowed to face each other, and areas of the board are denoted as the palace and the river, restricting the movement of some pieces and enhancing the movement of other. I think I may need to get a set and give this a try.

 

two older men in traditional dress playing xiagqi vietnamese board game at hoi an full moon festival vietnam

 

Pisa Cathedral Interior, Italy

 Europe, Italy, Travel  No Responses »
Nov 272015
 

So it turns out I have got a lot of photos I worked up but never uploaded! This one is of the interior of the Pisa Cathedral, which is right next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. When you see the Leaning Tower it’s hard not to wonder if it was really worth the trip into Pisa. I’ve been a couple of times and the area is always crawling with tourists. The interior of the Cathedral, which seems to draw less of a crowd, is an impressive surprise though.

pisa-cathedral-interior

Ouro Preto, Brazil

 Brazil, South America, Travel  6 Responses »
Nov 262015
 

While in Brazil for the World Cup we took some time out for a side trip to Ouro Preto in Brazil. It’s an old gold mining town perched atop steep hills. There’s a church with an amazing gilded interior, but you couldn’t take pictures inside. The church in this picture isn’t that same church, but gives you a good idea of what the town looks like.

ouro-preto-brazil

 

 

Inside the Forbidden Purple City in Hue, Vietnam

 Asia, Travel, Vietnam  1 Response »
Nov 252015
 

This temple is located in the Forbidden Purple City in Hue, Vietnam. You weren’t supposed to take photos inside the buildings.  I bent the rules a bit by setting up my tripod just outside the door. I had a scary moment when, after deciding the doors needed to be symmetrical, I closed one slightly and felt like it was about to come off in my hand!

I keep thinking that I need to go back to Vietnam. I may need to make a return trip next year.

inside-temple-in-hue-forbidden-purple-city-vietnam

 

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