Barcelona
One of the most varied cities in Europe, Barcelona is blessed with beautiful buildings both old and new, huge amounts of culture, and a lengthy beach downtown. Unfortunately word got…
Tag: Architecture
Berlin
One of my weekend European adventures back in 2006, I found Berlin to be a fascinating if busy place, even in mid-September then it was heaving with tourists. It has…
Palmerston North
Much maligned, and unfairly so based on what admittedly was only a day spent there, Palmerston North is an often lovely city a couple of hours north of Wellington. With…
Antwerp
Back in 2006 work took me to Antwerp for six months, commuting from near London early Monday morning, returning home Friday evening. I did this for a few weeks before…
Brussels
Brussels may not have a great reputation but I rather enjoyed it when I visited a dozen years ago, particularly for it’s wonderful architecture and some great museums. There are…
Frankfurt & Cologne
One of my early travels, courtesy of a project based on Antwerp in 2006, allowing me to spend every other weekend exploring a new part of Europe rather than heading…
Brno
The Czech Republic’s second city, Brno may not match Prague for size and scale, but it had more than enough to fill a day trip from Bratislava, just one and…
Bratislava
Slovakia’s capital Bratislava is a rather pleasant place, very walkable (though watch out for the trams!), with enough to see to fill a day (if little more). The obvious place…
Prague
An understandably if still overwhelmingly (in places) popular city, Prague has a rich history and wonderful architecture. The beauty of Prague (other than it’s obvious architectural beauty) is that there…
Municipal House
One of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen, Prague’s Municipal House is an Art Nouveau masterpiece that opened in 1912. It has played a key historical role twice, firstly…
Best of 2018 – Travels
By far the biggest year of travel I’ve done, helped by taking a fifteen week leave of absence from work, in addition to eight weeks of paid and unpaid leave…
Skopje
The bizarre capital of Macedonia, Skopje was certainly memorable if not always for the right reasons, with an eclectic mix / clash of architecture. It had plenty to fill a…
Prizren
The second city of Kosovo, Prizren was an unexpected delight, with a compact old town filled with historical sights, located at the base of the Sar Mountains. The best views…
Kosovo
One of the newest countries in the world, all I knew about Kosovo were the wars of the late nineties. It has so much to offer visitors though, including historic…
Penshurst Place & Parham Park
A pair of grand houses built two centuries apart (the 14th and 16th) but both strongly connected with the Elizabethan era. Parham Park is one of the finest Elizabethan houses…
Irish houses and gardens
As is standard across most of Europe there were plenty of grand old houses with accompanying gardens to explore in Ireland. Kylemore Abbey Built in 1860s with Manchester cotton money,…
Getty Villa
Opened in 1974 the Getty Villa is a gorgeous replica of Villa dei Papiri, a Roman villa in Herculaneum covered in volcanic ash from the eruption of Pompeii. It is…
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
One of the most impressive art museums, in a city full of art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) stretches over 20 acres. Even with large parts of the…
Downtown Los Angeles
Much maligned, but definitely improving, downtown Los Angeles still feels like a work in progress, with grand architectural statements sitting next to vacant or derelict lots. In a relatively small…
Getty Center
A castle of art perched on the slopes of Brentwood, the Getty Center is understandably one of the top destinations in Los Angeles, with interesting architecture, lovely gardens, and an…