Kamakura. It’s one of those words I’d never heard until I went to Yokote in north Japan.
Snow was falling as I arrived in the city, 260 miles from Tokyo. Softly at first, like…
Tag Archives | Traditions
This page gathers together different traditions from around the world, traditions that include dealing with love and death, grief and hardship, curses, parties, religion and more. Dive in to explore and find out a little bit more about the world…
Cuban Songs & Independence in Catalonia
The song sounded soulful but also a little sad. The man’s voice, with a tremor likely absent in his youth, addressed the crowd as though we were but one.
One person. A girl. A friend. A home. I couldn’t quite be sure, losing words as they…
Going Walkabout in the Northern Territory, Australia
At 3am I woke up. At 4am I gave up. For the last few hours, I’ve…
How to Make Candy – Sugar Lessons in Sweden
Picture the scene. You’re walking through a Swedish market, your young daughter holding your hand. She sees row upon row of sweet candy canes, bright luminescent swirls of sugar and mint that gleam in scarlet and white, holly leaf green and ivy, forming…
Jordanian Food: Sumac, Spice & Slice
The older I get, the more I enjoy cooking classes. With an opening statement like that, I’m in danger of
The Horses of Petra, Jordan
Dust rose from the ground as the horse thundered past and the sun began its ablutions. It painted pinks and pomegranates, amber, pistachio, charcoal and soft apricot rust across the walls of Petra before calling it a day and turning in for an early night…
Sweet Treats & Sauerkraut: Three Flavours of Trieste, Italy
Italian food. There was a time when I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about, but I can barely remember that now. The moment my train slowed to a stop in Trieste (and, if I’m honest, quite a while before that) my daydreams wandered…
Dirt, Sweat & Cucumber Sandwiches – English Afternoon Tea
A clock plods through its strict rhythm as the clink of china echoes through
Beneath the Totem Pole
It’s a narrow wooden bridge, so when a girl runs past, the reverberations affect us all. She’s a teenager, or maybe older, in classic blue jeans and US sneakers, with flowing blonde hair. A few minutes later I see her again, wrapped in a traditional Tlingit cloak and chanting with her ancestors.
We’ve crossed the bridge to the space outside Chief Shakes’ House, some 1000 miles north of Seattle.
Wine, Health and Seven Years of Bad Sex: Toasting Traditions in France
In France, The Rules Are Complicated
In France, saying cheers is not enough (well, it’s santé for a start, which means health rather than happiness.) No, you must…
Love At the End of Spain – The Padlock Tradition Continues
Months ago, I wrote about the golden padlocks locked to the Isabel II Bridge in Seville. Then I spotted the same tradition in Paris, on the Pont des Arts, surely one of the most romantic examples of civil engineering that anyone could find. Somewhere between finding love in Paris and stumbling across…
In Cologne, They Say It With Handcuffs
They say that you never forget your first time – and for me that was in Seville. While strolling along in the unfiltered sunshine, sharp flashes of light caught my eye. This was it, this was what I had heard about:
She has not abandoned me…
Five symbols squeeze together, like children trying to fit into one photograph.
NO8DO, NO8DO, NO8DO.
It’s written on unfurling flags and…
Seville’s Hottest Party
Every ash cloud has a silver lining, as the new saying goes. One unexpected advantage, though, was…
A New Love Tradition in the City of Romance
“We’ll always have Paris,” as the immortal line goes. Now, it seems, Paris will always have something to remember as well…
Candles & Candy Floss
The streets of Seville have thronged with Semana Santa this week. Between Palm Sunday and Easter itself, the city hosts a delicate combination of solemn religious processions and a candy-floss-coloured carnival…
Semana Santa
It’s Semana Santa or Holy Week in Seville. Here’s a sneak preview of a procession [...]
Hi, I'm Abi, a writer and photographer who swapped a career as a doctor for a life on the road. Find out more
