Any Excuse to Travel

Stories from travels in

September 2022

Trieste, Italy

Trieste feels different. It’s very much an Italian city, and yet it feels different. Almost entirely surrounded by Slovenia, perhaps it’s had to absorb more

Art Biennale, Venice, Italy

There is such a thing as having too much … of a good thing. I’m a massive fan of the Biennale  – ‘a celebration of

Venice, Italy

Himself has a huge grá for Venice. Last time I went without him, he pointed me in the direction of Tintoretto, a man I’d love

Brighly painted terraced houses lining a small canal

Islands in the Venetian Lagoon, Italy

Visitors to Venice are often time poor or so focused on the city and all its splendour that they neglect the islands in the Venetian

navy blue sky frames a row of 17th century buildings lit up at night facing a large square

Verona, Italy

Romeo and Juliet? Truth? Fiction? Visiting Verona, I had to keep reminding myself that Shakespeare’s play was fictional. Yet the characters may well have been