There, start with the spoiler! As a language student living in Switzerland twenty years ago, I made a flying visit to Chateau de Chillon, where I visited the Gothic dungeons underneath the castle and saw where the original tortured poet, Lord Byron, was imprisoned, chained to a pillar and left to rot (if you read … More Lord Byron was never a prisoner at Chateau de Chillon
When you think of Switzerland, you think of chocolate and cheese and skiing. Well, I don’t ski and I covered the cheese in the post-snowshoeing fondue I had in the last post which means it must be time for the chocolate! And it is! Long story short, I took the train out to Switzerland’s oldest … More I did a chocolate workshop at a Swiss chocolate factory
As I flew over to Switzerland on Friday, it felt like I was the only person not wearing my skiing outfit and carrying a helmet. I don’t ski. I snowboard a little – badly and nervously and rarely, if ever, getting off my heel edge (and not for nearly thirteen years, so putting it in … More Snowshoeing in the dark above Lake Geneva
I know I’m probably the last person to have discovered this but you can go up the chimney at Battersea Power Station and pop out the top for amazing views over London. When Battersea Power Station finally reopened in October 2022 in its renovated guest as a shopping and leisure centre, it saw a lot … More Up the chimney at Battersea Power Station
And after the usual end of year/beginning of year blogs, I’m back on the last trip of last year, my weekend at Parc Asterix. If I didn’t mention it in my post about their Gallic Christmas event, part – most – of the reason I went was that I saw one too many people on … More Why doesn’t anyone go to Parc Asterix?
Welcome to the least festive of festive blogs ever posted on Christmas Eve! This is the tale of my trip last weekend to Parc Asterix for their Noël Gaulois, Gallic Christmas, event. If you’re not familiar with Parc Asterix, it’s a theme park north of Paris dedicated to beloved long-running French comic album character Asterix … More Gallic Christmas at Parc Asterix
If you’ve been around this blog for long, you probably know I like to take film photos. I possess a wonderful 1960s SLR camera which turned up in the loft some ten years after its previous owner, my grandad, died. But it’s too heavy to carry around, so most of my photos are actually taken … More Iceland on film (winter 2024 edition)
For the last few years, I’ve often taken a film camera with me on trips. Nothing exciting, either a 90s holiday camera from eBay or a really light plasticky new camera once the 90s one started misbehaving. There are no settings except flash on/off and the 90s one doesn’t even have that. I made it … More Iceland on film (summer 2025 edition)
One of my own personal Christmas traditions is to go ice skating. Usually it’s at Bournemouth but last year I tried (and failed; the blades weren’t sharp enough) in Reykjavik and this year I finally had the opportunity to have the iconic Christmas experience of skating at Somerset House in the heart of London, or … More Ice skating at Somerset House: iconic London Christmas experiences
This is an exciting Christmas activity that I saw Sandy Breitmeier, aka sandymakessense, do a month or two ago and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to give it a go. It’s a lampworking workshop, where you use a blowtorch to melt and twist glass to make a Christmas tree ornament. I … More Lampworking: making a Christmas tree using a blowtorch
I Am A Polar Bear 