City Chronicles - travel blog

Ne’er the ingénue

2018-07-27T15:41:00.000+02:00

I’m planning next month’s trip to Italy. I know when I’m going and the destination airport; I know where I’m staying. That’s about all I know at the moment.

Reflections on a year of travel

2018-01-03T17:21:00.003+01:00

I’ve been moaning lately about the lack of travel for me in 2017 – I just didn't go anywhere!

Top Destinations to Visit in 2018

2017-12-23T16:58:00.000+01:00

It’s the end of the year and time to look forward to a fresh 12 months of travel. You may already have your plans in place, but if not here are some of the trending destinations for 2018.

Hidalgo - Vélez-Málaga's fantastic artist

2017-11-27T17:14:00.001+01:00

A leisurely stroll in Vélez-Málaga took us to the Convento de San Francisco and the magical world of local painter and sculptor Antonio Hidalgo.

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2017-08-15T15:41:00.001+02:00

Iberian Peninsular - Antequera's Dolmens, Gibraltar's Gorham's Cave Complex and Nerja Caves

Beehive tomb of El Romeral

At the end of 2016, after years of petitioning, UNESCO added Antequera's megalithic dolmens and two neighbouring mountains onto their World Heritage list. The UNESCO description (below) recognises the importance of the dolmens in contributing to the understanding European prehistory.

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Riogordo, Axarquia - pretty town with a fab museum

2017-08-15T15:38:00.001+02:00

We headed inland at the weekend (not that far, admittedly) and visited a town which I've circumnavigated many times, and even considered as a possible home when I first moved to Spain / Riogordo.

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Velez-Malaga: Inside Out

2017-07-30T14:18:00.000+02:00

The thing about wandering around with my other half (Italian and with none of the British stuffiness/fear of talking to strangers) is that you end up where you least expect. One minute you're staring through the iron bars of a convent gate, then the next you're clambering over boxes and squeezing past the tables of somebody's living room.

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From Marseille to Civitavecchia - Old ports, No storm

2017-01-29T21:04:00.001+01:00

The light is different in Provence, even on an overcast day it has a luminosity that gives the rather dreary landscape approaching the port of Marseille a lift.

Top Travel & Tourism Trends for 2017

2017-01-22T17:56:00.000+01:00

What does 2017 hold in store for those who like to travel? Whatever, you like, there’s a whole world out there to be explored, enjoyed, tasted...

But if you would like an oversight into what is expected to trend in 2017, then look no further (except down the page).

Taking to the water... not quite like a duck.

2016-12-24T14:47:00.000+01:00

Staying put is not an option – peripatetic is my middle name.
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A Toilet Tale from 2000 - To spend a Pfennig

2016-11-19T11:02:00.000+01:00

© CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

In honour of #WorldToiletDay, here's an excerpt from A Tale of Nine Cities, where my travelling companion and I got into a little altercation with a German toilet attendant...
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#Venexodus: Responsible Tourism - Striking a Balance

2016-11-13T16:12:00.002+01:00

Earlier this week, residents of Venice staged a protest against the decline in local population caused by an increased focus on tourism. With banners strung from the Rialto bridge and decorating the ever-present scaffolding, the #Venexodus protest culminated in a ceremonial departure from the ethereal city.

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Online dating travel-style!

2016-06-26T17:05:00.001+02:00

I was carrying out some research on La Gomera for work and I have to say, I'm smitten.

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Let's get ready to party!

2016-06-26T15:18:00.000+02:00

If you're suffering from Brexit Blues, or just haven't got round to booking your summer hols yet, then a week in Malaga in August is quite possibly the best option.

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Blue Flags and Sunshine

2016-06-26T14:49:00.001+02:00

Tourists from all over the world spend their holidays on the 150km of Malaga coastline every year.

A quick poll

2016-01-29T14:32:00.002+01:00

For no reason other than I thought the answers may be interesting, I've created an Answer Garden poll.

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Go West! (part 2) Cádiz

2016-01-17T13:54:00.000+01:00

The landscape of Western Andalucía is such a dramatic change to the central south with its arid landscape, even in winter.
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Go West! (part 1) On the Columbine Trail

2016-01-17T13:53:00.000+01:00

In fourteen hundred ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue...
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The highs and lows of Málaga's Feria

2015-08-16T10:41:00.000+02:00

From the 14th to the 22nd August Málaga's feria, a week of singing, dancing and horsemanship amongst other things, is non-stop However, not all the fun is considered by everyone to be 'good fun'.

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From Axarquia to the Americas. How the son of a small pueblo became a big man in America.

2015-03-30T20:25:00.001+02:00

From small acorns great oaks grow, so the saying goes, is particularly apt when considering how a small pueblo in the Andalucían mountains was the birthplace of a governor of Louisiana and one of only eight US honorary citizens.
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Fiesta de Los Reyes

2015-01-05T19:31:00.000+01:00

Melchor, Gazpar and Baltasar (the Three Kings or Wise Men of bibilical fame) still rock up across Spain on the evening of the 5th January to deliver gifts.
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Rovigo - A town of wasted potential that is failing in all quarters, not least tourism

2014-07-23T16:26:00.001+02:00

Rovigo, as I mentioned in a previous article, has a lot to offer, but when it comes to generating tourism it has been sadly short-sighted.
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Responsible Tourism

2014-07-12T21:27:00.001+02:00

My travel taste-buds are maturing. That doesn't mean I've become an old fogey, really it doesn't, just that I am more aware of the impacts that the presence, or the anticipated presence of, tourists, has on a place.

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Return to Rome

2014-04-15T17:14:00.000+02:00

I did not need to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain in order to return to Rome.

Pompeii's decline continues

2014-03-13T12:26:00.000+01:00

In September 2012 I reported that the roof of the Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii had collapsed. This was not the first time that Pompeii's ruins had suffered from what is commonly seen as poor management of the UNESCO listed site.

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