My second Traverse tour was a tour of Tbilisi’s Old Town. There were four Old Town tours going and it took a moment to make sure we were all on the right buses. There was a Cultural Exploration which was going to various museums, exhibits and galleries – not my thing. There was a Gastronomy … More A tour of Old Town Tbilisi
This was my first trip with Traverse. I arrived Monday night and just about had time to figure out the metro before I had to use it for real to get to the pick-up spot at Rose Revolution Square on Tuesday morning for our trip to the Chronicle of Georgia. To be honest, I wasn’t … More The weird Chronicle of Georgia
I was most excited about the enamel workshop, out of all the tours we did in Georgia. A traditional craft, one I’d never even considered having a go at! I watched videos on how cloisonné enamel is made and honestly, I realised it was going to take longer than the three hours allotted. At the … More An enamel workshop and the ancient capital of Georgia
Going to Tbilisi and not taking an hour or so for a sulphur bath is like going to Iceland and avoiding the Blue Lagoon or going to Paris and covering your eyes whenever the Eiffel Tower comes into view. The sulphur baths are a Tbilisi tradition. More than that, they’re the reason the city exists! … More What happens at a private Tbilisi sulphur bath?
Here we are! Arriving in Georgia! I thought a good place to start would be with my first evening and what I thought of Tbilisi on first impressions. I was there for Traverse 24, a conference and networking event for travel creators. I’ve had my eye on it for a few years and always been … More First impressions of Tbilisi
How have I never written this before? Laugardalslaug, the big public pool in Reykjavik, the best swimming pool in the country, a place I make a point of visiting whenever I’m in Reykjavik and yet have never written about? Might be because you’re not allowed to take cameras in, so I have no photos. Nonetheless, … More Laugardalslaug is the best swimming pool in Iceland
I do believe I’ve finally reached the end of my posts about Helsinki last May! This last one is about my boat trip around the bay and the islands. I said a couple of posts ago that I like to see a city from the water. If a boat trip it possible, I will almost … More A freezing summer’s boat trip around Helsinki
If you don’t know, I’m something of an enthusiast of ecclesiastical architecture. Well, I’m a fan of Norman and Gothic. St Paul’s leaves me cold and while I appreciated its Gothic grandeur, Truro Cathedral was disappointing in that it was brick and only a little over a century old. So I stopped by three churches … More Three churches in Helsinki
Here we are with another catching-up post from last summer’s trip to Helsinki and today I’m taking you with me on the blue-tinted SkyWheel. Every capital worth its title has a big wheel and Helsinki is no exception. I seem to remember making that note right back in 2014, when I had an evening in … More Helsinki’s SkyWheel – because every capital needs a big wheel
My parents have a habit, when they go to a new place, of going to the zoo. I’ve been known to do it too. For the record, Perm Zoo is terrible, one of those old-fashioned “all the animals are in concrete cages” zoos. Tallinn Zoo, a few years ago, clearly meant well but needed a … More Korkeasaari, the zoo on an island
I Am A Polar Bear 