Everyone, I think, has their own list of places they would like to see before they die. Of the many places I have yet to discover I would love to visit Bhutan one day. “Bhutan is a world that you had only hope existed. Vertical prayer flags flutter in the breeze and men dressed in… Continue reading My own private Bhutan
Category: Travel
Biel-Bienne the undecided
There are places in the world and especially in Switzerland that are amazingly easy to fall in love with. Biel-Bienne is not one of them. It is a place that even its residents seem undecided about loving or hating. Biel is the German name for this city of 52,350, located exactly midpoint between Geneva and… Continue reading Biel-Bienne the undecided
The Bedroom: A Hostel Environment
Back in Geneva, but this time staying at a hostel instead of in a hotel. As I am sure most of you are aware of, there are four basic types of hostel: – the YM/YWCA type hostel – the Salvation Army type hostel – the IYHA type hostel – the independent/backpackers hostel The differences between… Continue reading The Bedroom: A Hostel Environment
Sunshine Sketches of the Wild, Wild East
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.” This was the catchphrase for the 1930s US radio show, “The Shadow“, as well for the 1994 film of the same name, starring Alec Baldwin and Penelope Ann Miller. I was reminded of this phrase when driving back to Landschlacht yesterday after… Continue reading Sunshine Sketches of the Wild, Wild East
The Last Castle
There is an old story, a rumor really, that spread during the 1980s that was meant to discourage promiscuity / slutty behaviour by young ladies. A young American lady on her last night in Rome decided, in a state of increased intoxication, to allow herself to be seduced by a pair of handsome Italian men,… Continue reading The Last Castle
Eleanor of Arborea
“Sardinian women are amusing, so brisk and defiant. They have straight backs, like little walls and decided, well-drawn eyebrows. They are amusingly on the alert. Like sharp, brisk birds they dart along the streets. You feel they would fetch you a bang over the head as leave as look at you. Tenderness, thank heaven, does… Continue reading Eleanor of Arborea
Under the skin
Oh, narrow, dark and humid streets rising like crevices to an unforgiving sky. I long for a Cathedral, a fine old pagan stone fortress, just for its refreshing cold atmosphere. I would even settle for a baroque, homely, altar in a corner hole in the wall, just to squat in the corner and enjoy the… Continue reading Under the skin
Why we walk backwards
Female deities with inscrutable smiles, the Stele di Nora (a stone tablet showing in Phoenician characters the first recorded occurrence of the name “Sardinia”), and spindly, highly stylish, innovative and quirky bronze statuettes of varying sizes are just some of the things possible for viewing at Cagliari’s Museo Archeologico. This is Sardinia’s premier archaeological museum… Continue reading Why we walk backwards
Criminals or heroes?
Three events in our eight-day Sardinian adventure prompt today’s theme: – In San Vito, we meet an Englishwoman who shares with us her despair about having her car broken into while she was on a beach and had stuff stolen from her. Our B & B operator, Cristano Porcu, assures us that this kind of… Continue reading Criminals or heroes?
The Devil’s Saddle and the Alligator
Often when one considers Sardinia one thinks of it as a playboy’s playground. Former PM Silvio Berlusconi is famous for the lavish entertainments (notorious “bunga bunga” parties) he hosted (guests included Tony and Cherie Blair) in his sumptuous Villa Certosa on the Costa Smerlada far north of the island near Arzachena. This coast’s cachet among… Continue reading The Devil’s Saddle and the Alligator