Le Havre One of my first real weekends away during my last contract was to Le Havre. In fact, it was a little more than a weekend, as there had been a problem during some maintenance at the school, resulting in the water being turned off and the school essentially…
Category: Wandering
And now we say “Buongiorno” | Italy 2024
I spent my first two week break in Italy. The first break comes up quick, after only three weeks of work. As such, much like last year, I booked my trip only two days before I left. Actually, that might be an improvement! I did already have the vague idea…
Back Again | French Riviera
Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve written here. I have been back in… well, Europe, for over two months now (actually today is day eighty(!) so I told myself I absolutely had to get this posted today). Not just France, as some travels have already been had. (More…
Opulence | Paris, Again
Another set of holidays has passed in my part of France. It was my last fortnight off. Then six weeks of teaching, and my contract will end shortly into the next lot of holidays. They say time flies — but have we considered the possibility that it teleports? The evidence…
Inverness and the North | Scotland
We arrived at Inverness quite late. New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay is a big celebration in Scotland. We had already had a big day, so we didn’t have big evening plans. At least, not what other people consider big plans. K went to bed because she is responsible and has…
Isle of Skye | Scotland
We lived in relative luxury for our two nights on Skye, in a little AirBnB granny flat. Great views that we didn’t get to appreciate that first day, because it was still reasonably dark when we left. If you wait for the sun to get up in Scotland in winter,…
Glasgow and the West Coast | Scotland
We set out for Glasgow on Boxing Day. My friend K and I, that is. We took the train because, well, train travel is delightful. I was going to say “train travel in the Northern Hemisphere”, but actually, I have enjoyed trains everywhere they have been available to me. Glasgow…
Christmas in Edinburgh | Scotland
For the Christmas/New Year break, I went to Scotland. While I am not averse to spending my birthday alone, and indeed, relish a solitary period of reflection, Christmas is a different affair. Usually there is a lot of lively activity with the family, that tampers off into a sleepy evening…
Marseille Adventures
After my time in Nice, I moved on to five days in Marseille. I had expected to like it more than Nice, and so had planned to spend my birthday there. It didn’t quite go as I expected really. I did have the smoothest train catching of my time to…
Monaco
Monaco is a tiny country – called a principality. It is the home of many millionaires, for tax purposes. Citizens are not taxed on income – the country makes its money through land tax and income from the casino. Interestingly, you can only enter the casino with a foreign passport…