Art

Salamanca

I'd intended documenting my walk today, but the weather was against me. It's really wet and windy, more Autumn than Spring. So I've decided to focus on another city from our October trip. Salamanca in Spain's Castilla y Leon region. We treated ourselves in this city and stayed at the plush Hospes Palacio de San Esteban ,…Read more Salamanca

Sevilla

Or as you may know it, Seville. Fourth largest city in Spain, known (according to MrS) as El Sarten - the frying pan, due to its hot climate. Summer runs from May to October so we enjoyed a change from the wet and wind of home. Mmmmm, temperatures of 30 degrees, bright sunshine and warm…Read more Sevilla

Cartagena

We sneaked away from the Easter snows and enjoyed a few days in the city of Cartagena. The one in Spain, though I'd like to visit the Colombian one too. What a fascinating place, inhabited for nearly three thousand years, layers peel away, almost literally in some cases* to display its history. Now MrS is…Read more Cartagena

Lanzarote, part II

Around and about Arrecife We've had cold and windy weather in Scotland and today it's sleety too. So it's no surprise that I'm looking back over my holiday snaps for a diversion. And is it a coincidence that while January thoughts so often turn to abstinence and diets, many of my photos are of…Read more Lanzarote, part II

Vienna

Not the 1980 song , though I did like that very much back in the day. (And still do if I'm honest). No, the city. But once again this post will be dredging up memories, if not from my teens, but from my thirties. Eek! Actually I was only *just* still in my thirties, I…Read more Vienna

Ultramarine

Beyond the sea. But also the deep beautiful blue pigment derived from Lapis Lazuli. For centuries the most prized of pigments. Lapis was mined in Afghanistan, ground up and then caravanned along the Silk Road, through Samarkand where the mosques and madrassas glistened with gold and ultramarine mosaic. Its destination was Venice and the studios of…Read more Ultramarine