Saturday, 31 December 2011

MALTA: SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

MUST-SEA: Valletta Grand Harbour, the most photographed view on Malta. Is it any wonder?FOR an intelligent man, Saint Paul was an awful eejit. If only he’d stayed put in Malta, where he was shipwrecked in 60AD during a voyage to Rome, he might have been buried in one piece. But no. This first century...

Thursday, 22 December 2011

TURK, REST AND PLAY

THE 'REAL' DEAL: Sign at entrance to EphesusHONESTY in advertising is important, which is why it was so refreshing to see the sign offering “genuine fake watches” outside a souvenir shop at the entrance to the ancient Greco-Roman city of Ephesus near Kusadasi, Turkey.The pint of local Efes lager I had...

Sunday, 18 December 2011

Iceland: Baejarins Beztu Pylsur

A whole post on a hot dog stand? Of course, especially when Baejarins Beztu Pylsur is one of the most famous restaurants/stand in a parking lot in all of Iceland.More...In my research for Icelandic cuisine, one place kept reappearing. Both locals and foreign tourists alike stop at Baejarins Beztu Pylsur...

Saturday, 10 December 2011

ESTONIA'S GOT TALLINN — AND BOY, CAN THEY SING

HOT SPOT: Old Town Square and Town Hall in summerCOLD COMFORT: Snowy Square in the dead of winterTHERE are several ways to meet your maker prematurely in Tallinn’s Old Town in winter. You can wander along the pavement and get your skull skewered by a giant icicle falling from a roof, though it’s a rare...

Tuesday, 6 December 2011

IRELAND: ALL ABOARD AS TITANIC GETS SET TO SAIL AGAIN

REFLECTED GLORY: The remarkable Titanic Belfast buildingSomething very big is taking shape in Belfast, much as was the case just over 100 years ago. Back then, the finishing touches were being put to RMS Titanic, which was launched on May 31, 1911, an occasion commemorated six months ago with a series...