The Need for Speed…
- Lewis Hamilton – Valencia Grand Prix
This time last week, I was in the pit lane at the Valencia Grand Prix and it’s taken some time for my ears to stop ringing and my heartbeat to slow down. For days before the big race, the streets of Valencia hummed with the distant noise of robotic mosquitoes but however noisy that felt, it was nothing compared to being up close.
Catching My Breath
Via Ferrata in The Dolomites
There’s nothing like the fear of immediate death to concentrate the mind. Last week I retraced the steps of the world’s first via ferrata, a series of iron cables laid down during World War One to help soldiers reach the summits.
Via Ferrata - A 500 Metre Climb
Today, the advantage of this metalwork is to allow non-climbers (like myself) to haul our sorry selves through the clouds.
At last, I think I can genuinely say that this was indeed a breathtaking experience…
Adventure in the Dolomites
Next week, I’m heading into the Dolomites to visit the original via ferrata routes from World War One, as well as clipping onto the wires myself for the first time.
I’ll also be speaking to local photographers and mountain guides, researching the Ladino language and investigating the healing powers of arnica, while staying in family-owned luxury hotels in Cortina and Alta Badia.
Please contact me if you have editorial needs in any of these areas – and let’s hope I discover that I do have a head for heights after all…
The Reality of a French Love Affair…
The world has an ongoing love affair with French food and markets, dreaming of croissants, baguettes, chocolat and more. But, of course, that’s not the whole story.
My feature Brains, Ankles and Other Body Parts, published this month in Desert Leaf, tells the truth behind the gastronomic dream. Read it here…
Looking For Inside the Travel Lab…?
Welcome. This blog is about my work as a professional writer. If you’re looking for Inside the Travel Lab, my main travel blog, head this way.
If not, read on! Many thanks…
1000 Metres Above the Sea in Andalucia
Overlooking the olive fields of Andalucia
Inside El Torcal National Park
The outdoor enthusiast in me fell in love with the towering limestone formations in Andalucia’s El Torcal National Park, which I wrote about for this month’s easyJet Traveller. Only so many photos fit into a piece, though, so I wanted to share a few more here.
From a viewpoint within El Torcal
Looking across Andalucia
Underground in Kraków
I’ve spent this last week in Kraków, amid snow and sunshine, sobering historical sites and the best hot chocolate known to man.
This photo (of me) comes from an underground restaurant called The Piano Rouge. Beneath Kraków’s formal, medieval square, this place reminded me of a cross between Aladdin’s cave and the Moulin Rouge, with its scarlet fairy lights, velvety throws and corset-shaped lampshades.
They play jazz but serve up traditional Polish food wrapped in a French title.
I loved it.
The End of the Olive Harvest
The sun sets after a day picking olives...
It all started with the police check last night.
Torchlight zig-zagged across the car and we huddled in the backseat.
“You are English,” said the policeman. “And yet you say you want to go to Pegalajar.”
“That’s right,” said MG, our driver. “My friends here – they want to pick olives.”
“They want,” he lingered over the words, “to pick olives?”
From Liquid Gold & Mud Slides – read the full article at Inside the Travel Lab.
Unexpected Beauty
A Weed on the Side of a Footpath
Hunting Whales
Pilot Whales
Pedro Martina’s sun-worn face lights up as he grabs my shoulder and points into the distance.
“Three of them are under the water now,” he says as I scour the shades of blue. “One baby and two adultos… and further behind them I can see two more.”
It’s certainly not the first time Pedro has hunted whales, but you wouldn’t know it to look at him. Despite a seafaring tradition of more than three generations plus hauling tourists along the waves every day, he still wears that expression of childlike wonder.
Finding Dolphins
