The joys of northern France
It can be easy to overlook the joys of France – and to make our point, we made two delightful short trips across the Channel in the space...
Return to Ituren
Al final, as they say in Spain. At last. Here we were back in Navarra, one of our favourite places on the planet. It was in September...
Chasing Caravaggio
Our excuse for going to Rome (in April 2019) was Caravaggio. He spent 14 years of his turbulent and dramatic career there, from 1592 to...
The third city
Asked to name the top two cities in Spain, most people would tell you: easy, it’s Madrid and Barcelona. But the third? Far fewer would...
By train to Amsterdam
Those of us who detest air travel watch keenly as the list of reasonable European rail destinations expands. The latest addition is...
A short walk in the Pyrenees
One of our favourite places is all of Spain the village of Etxalar. Pronounced something close to Eshalar, it lies on the western side of...
Elsinore in fact and fiction
A chill wind was slicing in from the Baltic as we stepped off the train that runs from Copenhagen to Helsingør, providing a foretaste of...
Back with the Basques
I have long had a love affair with the Basque region of Spain, occupying the north-east corner, between the Atlantic and the Pyrenees. ...
Exploring Northern Portugal
We had to go back! In 2012, during a stay in the Spanish region of Extremadura, we dipped briefly into Portugal, visiting the delightful...
Five great places in Spain
Our list of five steers away from the most renowned cities and attractions, such as Granada, Toledo and Avila, and prefers places which...