Category: Traditions
-
PARIS: Baguettes – or the legend of the loaf
It was just a couple of weeks ago, I was driving from Charles de Gaulle airport into Paris and spied, shuffling along the street of one of the outlying suburbs a walking cliché, an old. hunched man, wearing a beret and carrying a baguette at 65cm in length. The ubiquitous baguette – bread of a…
-
How to souvenir: or buy something for yourself
When I started travel writing, folks thought I was taking a holiday. I was often asked to bring back duty free perfume, smokes, booze etc. I did in the beginning and then I stopped buying for anyone else – just a simple “no”, said politely and that was that. (I had my own stuff to…
-
Travel: How to explore Tangier
Tangier, top of the continent and a name that conjures myth, legends and exotic stories of decadence is a city of intrigue. Go see for yourself. There’s the labyrinthine medina, an expat dream town, cafes and souks, tempting tagines – there is so much to uncover in Morocco’s top town. It’s a city on the edge,…
-
Miss Saigon? Sure do.
A day or so in Saigon is like a week anywhere else, staying in District 1 at the delightful Caravelle Hotel (yes, still the best breakfast in Asia). I’m a sucker for a good hotel breakfast, and as one who has the simplest morning meal at home I go crazy when I’m at a brekkie…
-
Travel: looking for the best doors to capture
A simple wooden door made from fence palings – whatever does the job. On the road to Freycinet, Tasmania. What is it about doors? I can’t stop photographing them. Below are just a few of the recents I’ve slammed but I’ve been shooting them for years. The beautiful coloured doors of Ireland, especially Dublin –…
-
Travel: Make mine Marrakech
Marrakech Morocco, it’s bold and it’s beautiful. Colours collide here and eyes and ears are put to an endurance test. Every morning I woke up in the Red City, I fell in love with it, over and over again. The early foreign travellers to Morocco called Marrakech ‘Morocco City’. The city of old has…
-
How to see York – in 48 hours
I love cities that have many layers of history, where the stones speak of grim deeds, majestic events, innovative creations and the odd ghost. If your itinerary allows – spend some time in the atmospheric and elegant city of York, in Yorkshire, the UK’s second mediaeval city. Eat, drink, sleep and play – all budgets…
-
Slow Travel: Cruising Vietnam
An up-close and authentic view of real life in Vietnam is happily experienced while cruising the rivers with stops along the way in villages and hit of the big smoke – Hanoi. Take it slow . . . Torrential! And that’s the perfect word for the monsoon rains that lashed our ship for 20…
-
What is your essential travel item?
As a regular traveller, packing is still not a smooth task. I think I have it all together: duffel bag for safari trips where a bag has to be thrown on top of a truck; large suitcase for a cruise more than six days because I can pack lots and only have to unpack once;…
-
How to take better food shots
Using your smart phone and you’re not a whizz bang photographer with a fancy camera? Want your meal to be envied? Your risotto remembered? Your cake catalogued? Then charge your phone and follow these suggestions. Food and travel! Seems that everyone wants to photograph what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner . . .and in…