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We reach the top of the hill, and turn around. “Well, there you go, Mike. As I said: best view in Graz,” my friend says proudly. It is indeed a terrific place to take in Austria’s second-biggest city, with its Renaissance and Baroque architecture fanning out between forested, palace-studded hillsides. But I see little of

Each footfall upwards sends you slightly back again. Sand slips beneath your feet. It’s still dark, the western sky pocked with stars. As you gain ground, this sea of sand grows luminous, reflecting the gentle eastward light. The Saharan dunes come to life after a night of cold. Your world is dim but brightening. In

The walls of the carriage vibrate, the distant train engine makes a couple of odd, unhealthy-sounding noises – and everything rattles away into complete silence. No, not quite. My ears fight to get accustomed – the lack of noise is like fierce pressure against my eardrums, which have spent the last 7 hours being gently

“No, wait, uh – I ordered a coffee?” It’s the mid 90s, and I’m in Italy for the first time in my adult life. Tragically I’m only in transit, so all I’ll see of this magnificently handsome country on this trip is gray, functional-looking train stations – a world away from the Italian countryside that

What’s your meal-time limit on resigned self-disgust? The more you explore the world, the more you realise that other cultures are better (ie. more honest) than yours at facing the brutal realities of certain aspects of a life well lived. For example, if you’ve ever felt the weight of that post-lunch part of the day

As you may have seen from the news, Europe is having a bit of a problem with its energy levels right now.  Not the kind where the sun’s out and you’ve just opened this bottle of wine and hey, what a perfect time for a nap (I firmly believe the Spanish siesta should immediately be

Have you ever looked at a map of Egypt and wondered, Why is ‘Upper’ at the bottom and ‘Lower’ at the top? But if you stop to think about it – isn’t that entirely logical? Surely the “upper” part of a river is where it flows from, because water only flows downhill, right? (What kind

In 2008 the New Economics Foundation, a research institute studying social, economic and environmental justice, released the results of its second Happy Planet Index – ranking countries based on their environmental impact and the health and happiness of their citizens. And at the top of the list? A relatively small Central American country, with a

One of the great joys of travel is encountering what feels to you like a really weird breakfast – a chance to have your expectations challenged, overturned, tidily cleaned away and replaced with something you’ve never thought of facing the day with.  Being English, wherever I go it’s usually assumed by other folk that I’m

Like every great journey, every great travel book is a process of falling in love. There’s always a certain moment – a turn of phrase, an insight that echoes deep in your bones, a joke you weren’t expecting that makes you spit whatever you’re drinking – where you’re suddenly pulled over some kind of emotional

Tuscany has cultural, artistic and historical opulence in a region which defines taste like no other. Tuscany is among Italy’s most stunning, and captivating places to visit; from art to wine to architecture. The undeniable birthplace and home to the Renaissance, Tuscany is the kind of place that is teases the imagination with dreams of

Sometimes it really is the little things. It shouldn’t matter so much – but what would opening a bottle of wine be without that first “pop!” as the cork comes out, both comical & sophisticated, and always immensely satisfying? It’s a problem wine-makers have been wrestling with for decades, ever since the arrival of cork

When you travel to a new country, you and the place enter into an unspoken agreement. Yes, there are new words to learn (even if the language is the same one you speak at home!) – but if you make the effort and treat them with the respect they deserve, you’ll learn a new concept