Krakow – Culture v. Cruelty
Kraków , the beautiful capital of Poland until 1596 and one of the leading centres of Polish academic, economic, cultural and artistic life, also lives in the shadow of one of the worst atrocities known to mankind Growing from a Stone Age settlement Krakow became Poland’s second-most-important city and a busy trading centre for Central Europe. With new universities and cultural venues with the creation of the Second Polish...
Tripping around the Troodos
The Troodos mountains in Cyprus offer an easily accessed trip back in time from practically anywhere on the island. With Cyprus a British forces base for many years and a cheap holiday destination for most of Europe, there’s been a predominance of coastal development that lends itself more to resort holidays than cultural escapes. That said, it doesn’t take us a great deal of effort to hire a car and head for the hills. In...
Mouth-watering Murcia
Jota Ele restaurant in Murcia is simply the finest tapas we’ve found anywhere! We’re increasingly jaded by restaurants that promise the earth but deliver little more than a large bill at the end of an uninspiring meal. For us, the true test of a good restaurant, in any country, is if it’s largely populated by local people who look as if they’re enjoying themselves. On the lookout for a lunchtime halt, we amble around the stylishly...
A fine Meze to get into
Our stylish, comfortable apartment in Paphos, is marred only by its misleading distance from the town and the noisy building site it sits within, with its empty swimming pool – not a great introduction to Cyprus but salvaged in part by one of our fortunate choices of restaurant. Luckily we have a hire car and don’t intend spending much time in the apartment – but we’ve fallen foul of misleading marketing....
Effervescence personified
Jean-Michel, with his wife and business partner Agnès are filled with an effervescence for their Paul-Etienne Saint Germain creation – only eclipsed by their very own elegant Grand Cru champagnes. Walk the length of the world famous Avenue de Champagne in Epernay and you’ll be among some of the greatest known champagne brands – from Mercier at one end to Dom Perignon and Perrier-Jouet at the other. If you’re...
Get lost in Ostuni
Eye-watering white-painted flat-topped facades become commonplace in Greece, where stunning landscapes are accented by bright white buildings set against impossibly deep blue skies – but wait; this is Italy. Its perhaps no coincidence that Ostuni, ‘La Città Bianca’, sits in Puglia, deep in the heel of Italy; only a fighting ship’s paddle away from the Greeks, who were some of the first conquerors of this area – swiftly followed by a...
