Stories from travels in

Mary Murphy

Multi-arched bridge spanning a wide river lit up at night

Bordeaux, France

Bordeaux. A colour. A wine. A French city. A city that wasn’t on my radar as I’m not a massive fan of red wine. We

Canal de Garonne, France

I ended up in a yacht race once, thinking I was going along to dribble my toes in the water as I lolled on deck

Padova (Padua), Italy

I grew up with St Anthony, the saint who, for a fee, can find just about anything you’ve lost. And you don’t have to be

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

Graz, Austria: Feeding the soul

When it comes to feeding the soul, there is no shortage of churches in Graz. The skyline is dotted with spires and steeples. Centuries of