501 Places

Wandering among the impressive ruins of the great Roman cities of Palmyra or Jerash it is hard to imagine that this was the south-eastern extremity of the Roman empire. It’s a world away from the windswept isolation of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, at the opposite end of Rome’s conquered lands. These cities are vast, [...]

You are approached by two backpackers. They tell you their story of misfortune. Robbed in the hostel, they now have no money and only their passports to get them home. What do you do? There are numerous stories of similar scams doing the rounds on the internet and via travellers’ gossip. After all, if you [...]

“Social media is about reaching out to your customers. Thousands of them. All at once.” “Social media is like a cocktail party, where your message receives an instant massive global audience.” “Social media enables brands to connect with their consumers” “Social media is changing the way businesses operate forever.” I could go on, and everyone [...]

Most readers will probably remember the old classic whose title I borrowed for this post. For those who don’t, and for those who do, here it is – enjoy while reading. Take it away, Credence Clearwater Revival: If the eskimos have 200 words for snow, then perhaps the British should have the same number of [...]

Having focussed much of our efforts of our trip to northern France on reaching Mont St Michel, I then looked at a map of the nearby area and wondered where we might take a drive. The city of St Malo appealed, not least when I took a look at its shape on Google Earth and [...]

I went to visit the Bayeux tapestry when I was 15. Booooooring! I have a vague recollection of wandering through the darkened room in which it is hung, but I’m fairly sure my main aim was to get out into the sun as quickly as possible. What interest could an ancient wall-hanging possibly hold for [...]

In the UK we grow up with a love-hate relationship with our Gallic neighbours. We love to hate them, and tell countless jokes at their expense. I’m fairly sure it’s mutual. Travelling to Paris several times in my teenage years, the stereotype of the rude arrogant Frenchman was reinforced, as we were looked down upon [...]

If anyone had suggested to me a few years ago that I would become one of London’s biggest admirers, I would have dismissed them as mad. I had a strong dislike for the city and on our essential visits to the city I would arm myself with a thick skin, replace my natural smile with [...]

I read a good article yesterday from Trip Atlas that listed 10 most controversial foods around the world. Not suprisingly one of the entrants in the lists was shark’s fin soup, and this got me thinking about the moral issues surrounding our choice of diet, and indeed our wider perception of the place of humans [...]

Wherever we travel, the monuments that are erected to the glory of a god (or gods) stand out as some of the most impressive architectural sights. So much energy, sweat, money and blood (literally) is often put into the construction of these magnificent buildings that they become not only places of worship for the faithful, [...]