Stockholm

Stuténska huset, Gamla Stan, Stockholm

We dock in Nynäshamn, Sweden.  I hear the low grumble of the ship’s motors moving us ever so slowly and carefully towards the port.  Usually I’m happy to find my own way but today we’re booked onto a Big Red Bus transfer into Stockholm, an hour away.… Read the rest

Helsinki

Helsinki Cathedral on Senate Square

Finland’s capital, Helsinki, sits on a southern peninsula in the Gulf of Finland.  We have arrived at the port and I’m itching to get into the city but as usual, it’s a bit chaotic getting five people ready and out the door in the morning.  … Read the rest

Venice Of The North

Venice of the North

Today we get to experience St. Petersburg’s canals.  Alexander the Great founded this city as his own and had a vision to turn it into the Venice of the North, criss-crossing the city with canals to provide a means of transport as well as beauty.… Read the rest

A Taste Of St. Petersburg

A taste of old Russia at Eliseyev Emporium

After a day of exploring Peterhof and the Catherine Palace at Pushkin, I’m ready to delve into St. Petersburg proper.  After dropping the rest of the tour group back at the port, mum and I are taken to the metro at Primorskaya where we are handed over to another guide for the evening. … Read the rest

Marienkirche

Marienkirche

Today we are visiting Marienkirche (St Mary’s Church), located in Rostock, a city in northern Germany. After a walk through the town square we come across this charming church and enter into the dazzling interior, the whitewashed wall reflecting the light of the bright day outside.… Read the rest

Archaeological Museum of Rhodes

Archaeological Museum – Upper Courtyard

The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes is housed in a building complex that was originally the hospital run by the Knights Hospitallier, the Knights of the Order of Saint John.  It at the bottom of the Avenue of the Knights, just down from the Palace of the Grand Master. … Read the rest

Castello Odescalchi di Bracciano

Castello Odescalchi di Bracciano by night

The incredible Renaissance castle, Castello Odescalchi, sits in the heart of Bracciano and has borne witness to centuries of change.  As we arrive in Bracciano on the first leg of our Summer Holidays, it greets us, presiding over the piazza as we unload our bags, the boys too tired to notice, me bewitched and speechless at the sight. … Read the rest

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is a truly inspiring place both architecturally and spiritually.

It was a very quiet Monday morning when I visited due to Eid and the public holiday.  I approached from a side entrance near the car park and was redirected to enter from the main entrance at the front.… Read the rest

Hutongs

Hutongs

This feels like the real deal.  It’s drizzling and I’m finally out.  In China.  The real China.  Old certainly meets new here in the Hutongs (narrow street) district where neon sits beside buildings which are hundreds of years old and now protected as the old town historic district. … Read the rest