Category: Europe

Liquid Gold & Mud Slides
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Liquid Gold & Mud Slides

It all started with the police check last night.

Torchlight zig-zagged across the car and we huddled in the backseat.

“You are English,” said the policeman. “And yet you say you want…

Doorways in Cordoba
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Doorways in Cordoba

Córdoba, in Andalusia, has an unusual cathedral. Unusual in that it was built within a mosque. Not on the former grounds of one, or as an adaptation of one, but actually totally and utterly in the middle of one.

Mushrooms In the Mountains
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Mushrooms In the Mountains

What really made me sit up and take notice, though, was the mushroom liquor – some sort of home brew…

A Slice of the Taff Trail
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A Slice of the Taff Trail

A Photo Journey Through the Capital of Wales
The Taff Trail strides through the valleys of South Wales, taking in castles, countryside and what has been optimistically described as “industrial archaeology.”I’ve strolled, cycled and even rollerbladed along its path, although I’ve never made the complete trip from the capital city of Cardiff through to the town [...]

Beneath the Deep Blue Sea
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Beneath the Deep Blue Sea

Pedro Martina’s sun-worn face lights up as he grabs my shoulder and points into the distance.
“Three of them are under the water now,” he says. It’s certainly not the first time Pedro has hunted whales…

One Thousand Ways to Say Hello
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One Thousand Ways to Say Hello

Geneva is a city with an international reputation and Place du Molard clearly wants people to feel at home. Snuggled among the charcoal cobbles, glowing squares say hello in languages from around the world.
At least I assume that’s what they mean. I couldn’t translate them all…

Find more travel photos – and all sorts of welcomes [...]

Around Mont Blanc - White Mountains at Sunset
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Around Mont Blanc – White Mountains at Sunset

Mont Blanc, the white mountain, rises out of the Alps to claim the title of the highest peak in Western Europe. I’ve been lucky enough to..

Searching for Volcanoes
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Searching for Volcanoes

Speeding along the tarmac road, I wonder how long it’s been since I last took a normal breath. The road drops…

It's Raining Sweets - Reyes Magos, Spain
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It’s Raining Sweets – Reyes Magos, Spain

The crowd cheers and I duck as a rainbow of hardboiled missiles pelts down around me. A moment later, men, women and children scrabble around on the lamplit pavement, their hands brushing mine, their fingernails gouging mud and fruity pulp…

The Blogger, the Coast and the Segway.
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The Blogger, the Coast and the Segway.

It’s an ominous start to the day: dragging 40 kilos of equipment through Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. We are a group of travel bloggers; the demonic machine, the Segway.

Stepping Across Stones
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Stepping Across Stones

The monks who chose to settle here must have had an eye for beauty and antennae for peace, and it’s hard to imagine a more restful place for those…

The Frog, the Astronaut and the Sore Neck
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The Frog, the Astronaut and the Sore Neck

Spain, like many European countries, has plenty of cathedrals.

But how many have an astronaut in their delicately-carved stone?

Sparks Fly in Seville
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Sparks Fly in Seville

Sparks fly in Seville – and it’s all in the name of love, eternity and structural maintenance.
For a few years now,

Soothing Souls - The Legacy of Salts Mill
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Soothing Souls – The Legacy of Salts Mill

Everyone talks in whispers, the omnipresent classical music giving the atmosphere of a reverential mass, or perhaps a mix between a library, an art gallery and heartbreak hotel.

The Adventures of Billy Bookcase
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The Adventures of Billy Bookcase

England, France, Spain.

Different dresscodes, different foods, different languages, different outlooks. But when it comes to furniture, Swedish

A Bandit Museum
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A Bandit Museum

Who could resist? I was walking around Ronda, home to an incredible bridge and arguably the birthplace of bullfighting, when a sign caught my eye.

Museo Bandolero. A bandit museum.

Twilight at the Alamillo, Seville
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Twilight at the Alamillo, Seville

A little further out, however, Seville reveals its modern face, the lights and the energy of a city on the up.

Oranges in Seville
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Oranges in Seville

It’s not an urban legend - the streets of Seville really are lined with orange trees. Right now, they’re sprouting orbs of green but I’ve spotted a few that are getting ahead of the pack…
 

We’ll see oranges in no time…

Intestines & The Abattoirs
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Intestines & The Abattoirs

FRENCH FRIDAYS
A shiny pink intestine sits on the Charles-de-Fitte Avenue in Toulouse, reaching out of the ground to an overpowering height. I’ve always had the feeling that the museum curators don’t call it the intestine, but Toulousains certainly do.
It’s a handy landmark for giving directions – and it symbolizes the entrance to Toulouse’s museum [...]

The End of Summer
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The End of Summer

Last night, for the first time in months, purple clouds billowed and thundered over sun-scorched Andalucia.
By the morning, the storm had settled but the evidence remained: the end of summer in Seville.

France's Speedo Fetish
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France’s Speedo Fetish

Every country seems to have a slightly different hygiene fetish. France, meanwhile, forces men to pay to wear a stranger’s moist speedos. All in the name of hygiene.

Horchata vs Globalisation
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Horchata vs Globalisation

I’m delighted to know that even in this Coca-Cola world, travel can still show me some new tricks.

Biarritz, Baby
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Biarritz, Baby

Biarritz has a name that should mark it out for greatness. Instead of playboys in woollen bathing suits, Biarritz greeted me with

Looking Through Glass
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Looking Through Glass

In Europe’s largest aquarium, small creatures still command attention.
Oceanográfico, Valencia, Spain

Revenge of the Killer Tomato
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Revenge of the Killer Tomato

I’ve survived raw and ready steak tartare, reheated animal parts floating in jars and dismembered amphibeans.

But the tomato has floored me.

Steak Tartare: Raw Egg + Raw Meat = Perfection
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Steak Tartare: Raw Egg + Raw Meat = Perfection

France does not claim steak tartare as its own…

Fighting Food - Cassoulet
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Fighting Food – Cassoulet

Southwest France proclaims itself as the family home of cassoulet, even if the towns bicker over who thought of it first like relatives at Christmas.

Cirque de Gavarnie
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Cirque de Gavarnie

Its peaks reach up to 3000 metres and waterfall jets breed across its splintered surfaces, forming rainbow haloes against the snow.

The Zing in Gazpacho
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The Zing in Gazpacho

Andalucia has embraced the tomato and created a dish that’s perfect for its parched plains.

Gazpacho, like pizza, had humble beginnings

Some Like It Strong..
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Some Like It Strong..

This is going to sound pompous, but travel really does teach you as much about your home country as it does the places you visit. I’d already realised …