This is a post I put together during my time in Thailand, whilst wondering as to how the changes in the last ten years have changed how I perceive travel and distance. It’s a bit more on the thoughtful side than normal – I’d love to hear your feedback! I’m lying in a hammock as I write this, fulfilling all of my travel blogging wet dreams. I generally … [Read more...]
Travel – it’s all about the people
Travel provides an amazing opportunity to meet up with people and to peep through the keyhole of their lives, even for a fleeting instant of time. It’s one of the things I love about it – being a sort of life voyeur. Vera and I recently undertook a bit of a road trip across Europe, ostensibly to attend a wedding in the Bavarian alps (post on that coming soon!), but also in … [Read more...]
14 Things you might not know about me
I thought I’d do something a little bit different today. Instead of regaling you with tales of my adventures, or sharing my photography (well, I’m going to do that anyway, all text posts are so 2010 on this blog), or sharing my tips on photography, travel, or technology (I write about a random pile of stuff it seems), I’m going to tell you some things you might not know about … [Read more...]
The terrible importance of Finding Your Voice
Ah. Yes. Hello. You know, let’s talk. Just you and me. Let’s pretend I’m sitting next to you. Maybe we’re down by the beach. Or in a pub. Perhaps we’re in two comfortable chairs, and we’re grasping happy glasses of cognac. Happy, presumably, that they have been released at last from their bottle, and are finally ready to serve the purpose that they were conceived for. I have … [Read more...]
The art of procrastination, and an introduction
I started this travel blog quite a long time ago. Just over two years ago in fact, as this recent post illustrates. Throughout that whole time, I’ve had a silent partner who has been helping me out, providing handy feedback, checking my grammar, researching destinations and carting bits of camera kit around. And other than the odd mention, she’s never really had a … [Read more...]
Celebrating two years of blogging! (and some things I’ve learnt on the way)
Cheers! My blog has just turned two, which as far as I can tell, means it’s about ready to walk and talk on its own. Kindergarten is probably just around the corner. To mark the occasion, I’ve written this shamelessly self congratulatory post (the 331st post of the site!), to celebrate the fact that my blog and I have successfully orbited a giant nuclear furnace … [Read more...]
My travel ABCs
A travel meme has been sweeping the travel blogging world recently, where travel bloggers are posed 26 (!) questions about their travelling life. I was nominated to take part by Sophie of Sophie’s World. It’s a bit of fun, and you might learn some things about me you didn’t know already. Without further ado: A: Age of first international trip: I was whisked from the … [Read more...]
My recent sex change
When I was christened, it would seem that the plan had not been in my parents mind for me to move to France. As if it wasn’t already enough that my surname is a girls first name in most of the world, it was decided that I be given a first name that to the French is a girls name. Now that I have actually moved to France, the French bureaucracy is struggling to get its head … [Read more...]
An ode to Bernie
For nearly a year now I have been travelling around New Zealand. That’s what all those posts about New Zealand have been about, in case you were wondering. I’ve been travelling as a twosome, with my ever patient other half, who has allowed me to visit a lot of, quite frankly, odd locations. But a third member of our troupe was ever present, always reliable, always … [Read more...]
What Hobbiton taught me
I recently visited the set of the Lord of the Rings filming location for Hobbiton in New Zealand. Sadly, that is about all I am allowed to actually write about the experience, due to a rather impressive looking piece of legal paper I had to sign that I’m pretty sure gives Peter Jackson the rights to my first born if I tell you any more. So don’t be expecting any lovely … [Read more...]
Reflections on 2010: my favourite bits
Coming to the end of a year gives me a good reason to look back and think about all the things I enjoyed. It’s been a pretty big year for me. I finished off my year long trip around Australia, which was a tremendous experience. I decided that travelling was the way forward, and rather than returning to the UK, came to New Zealand (with a short detour to Germany. For … [Read more...]