Inside the Travel Lab

People never believe me, but it’s not always sunny in Spain. Even in Seville, Europe’s hottest city, winters are COLD, COLD, COLD. Well, OK, probably only the one “cold” would have done…

When it came to first impressions, the inside of Seville’s sprawling cathedral left me cold. I saw gloom and scaffolding, dust and darkness, and the dreams and shadows of the Spanish Inquisition lurking behind the many locked gates and doors…

The Seville Communion takes readers into two different worlds. It starts with the priests who guard the Pope’s personal computer in the Vatican. Then we meet Quart, a priest with more than a hint of James Bond and Luca Brazi, who works for the Pope and, well, Christianity at large. He…

“Take a photo of him,” she says, her eyes smoky with eyeliner, her words smudging together in the Andalucían way.

I glance up at the head on the wall.

Short & sweet this week, as I’m travelling through rural Andalucia to places where cyberspace hasn’t yet reached. Enjoy this photo of Seville’s Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) at night. Hasta luego!

I’ll admit it, I have photo fever at the moment. I’m trying out…

Last week, I wrote about NO8DO, the mysterious motto of Seville. Later that day I received…

Five symbols squeeze together, like children trying to fit into one photograph.

NO8DO, NO8DO, NO8DO.

It’s written on unfurling flags and…

Every ash cloud has a silver lining, as the new saying goes. One unexpected advantage, though, was…

On a spring afternoon, with orange blossom filtering the sunshine, I saw my first one. Looming tall and dressed entirely in black, the hood masked his face before rising upwards to a point above his head. His hands were gloved, the dark robe flowing and two, blinking dark eyes…