We are now heading home after just over nine weeks away, and looking forward to some downtime, that’s for sure. But first, New York City. We spent about a week taking in all the sights (and sounds and smells) and going to all the usual places. We were amazed not only at the sights but with the whole atmosphere of the city. So many of our preconceptions turned out to be not quite right. Firstly, although we expected the landmarks – Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, etc. – we didn’t expect the sheer style of the city. Even the buildings that aren’t famous, or even notable, still seem to suit the New York style, and of course the wooden water tanks, roof gardens and fire escapes are quintessential NYC. Not to mention the ... read more

We’ve just visited four places – two stunningly scenic, two disturbingly urban. From Westport we drove out to Achill Island, Ireland’s largest offshore island (although not far offshore, as the bridge to it is only about 50 metres long). We drove along Atlantic Drive, another winding, undulating, potholed goat track, complete with wandering sheep, stones marking out the most dangerous of the drops off the side of the road and –amazingly – a lone jogger out in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and spectacular views of the Atlantic coast as well. Heading up toward Derry, through country that becomes less green and picturesque and more stony and rugged as you travel north, we stopped at Donegal for a look around, then Slieve League to see the highest sea cliffs in Europe. Slieve League is fantastic, although ... read more

We travelled by train to Shrewsbury, on a long day that involved as much waiting as it did travel – waiting for a connection at Brussels, waiting for a connection at London Euston, waiting for a replacement train at Crewe when the rostered guard didn’t show up. Shrewsbury is a nice quiet town, a bit historic and in a nice setting but for us it was good for some down time after all the cities we have been to. It does have some nearby attractions though. We visited Ironbridge, a UNESCO site and regarded as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Ironbridge has numerous museums celebrating the various industrial activities that took place in the valley – iron-making, pottery, coal mining – as well as the famous (and appropriately-named) Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge in ... read more

Olomouc is a town of about 100,000 people in Moravia, in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. It has a lot of the things that the big cities have – a town square, old buildings, churches by the dozen, a UNESCO site, drunks and beggars – but is much less crowded (with either). We spent two nights there to have a look around en route from Krakow to Budapest. It was a great decision. The big attractions are the Astronomical Clock and The Holy Trinity Column, both in the main square, and St Wenceslas Cathedral. Everything is within easy walking distance, including the railway station. We walked the entire old town and were back in the square in time for the 12 o’clock performance by the Astronomical Clock. This was a bit of a fizzer ... read more

Welcome back, reader. Our (relatively speaking) adventure begins again. We are now in Tallinn, Estonia, having arrived yesterday by ferry from Helsinki, Finland, having arrived there two days earlier by overnight plane from Hong Kong. Hong Kong was 28 degrees, sticky and disturbingly efficient. Helsinki was 4 degrees, and efficient. Tallinn was not very efficient but was quite medieval. But I am getting a bit ahead. HK was a great start to the trip, fascinating to wander around and with a couple of iconic places to visit. We caught the Peak Tram up to Victoria Peak; we caught the Star Ferry across to Kowloon. We went out to Stanley and Repulse bay. We saw the nightly Symphony of Light from Golden Bauhinia Square, but that’s actually more iconic in the promotion than in the event itself. ... read more