Should airline passengers who are late to board be fined? Rather a lot of people in a recent survey seem to think so. Men seem to be more intolerant than women, on the issue of late comers. (They are likely to have been tarrying in the duty free, rather than arriving late at the airport… Continue reading
Browsing Category Travel
Kings of the castles – the glory of Wales
“Know, Sir, that Llewelyn ap Gruffydd is dead, his army broken and all the flower of his men killed.” This despatch from his winning troops at the front was all the planning permission Edward the First required to begin one of the most intimidating programmes of military construction of the Middle Ages. Within three months,… Continue reading →
Milan – Italy's capital of style.
Milan is on the New York Times list of 41 places to go to in 2011. This is a piece I wrote after a visit there in 2009. ( I include a resume of the New York Times article, “A reborn cathedral joins fashion-forward galleries and hotels” below) On our visit we stayed in the… Continue reading →
Montreal – baguettes with skyscrapers
There’s nowhere in North America quite like Montréal, the second largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris. Thinks baguettes with skyscrapers. The writer visited Canada’s bilingual big city, where the standard greeting is ”Bonjour-Hi”, and give six good reasons to make a long winter weekend of it, including endless cosy underground shopping, the hotel fit for… Continue reading →
Red carpet city of the stars on the French Riviera
“This short cigar belongs to a man with no name. This long gun belongs to a man with no name. This poncho belongs to a man with no name.” Introduced in this way in Fred Otne’s totemic poster, it was almost the film with no name. A Fistful of Dollars, starring Clint Eastwood, soon cast off its… Continue reading →
Intangible charm of swish North African masterpiece
Marrakesh has been transformed from dusty hippie outpost to one of North Africa’s swishest destinations, a vital call on the glitterati’s grand tour. This magical boom city boasts boutique hotels furnished in high style, celebrity chef-run restaurants and deluxe hammams. But inside its sophisticated wrapping, the writer finds the old city little changed, with its… Continue reading →